Green Tech Magazine May 2019 en

10
Cluster News
GREEN TECH MAGAZINE 11
USA and China
push recycling
Global recycling markets are experiencing
dynamic growth and offer business
opportunities for environmental technology
companies. Increasing volumes of waste
and tougher regulatory requirements mean
that China and the USA are coming to the
fore and catching up with Europe.
China has tightened its regulation of the
waste management industry and of environmental
protection in the last 20 years. It
now imposes more stringent requirements
on the construction of landfill sites than
Germany. The Far Eastern country is focussing
on large-scale environmental projects
and is currently switching to thermal processing
– above all in its cities. Progress with
separation of waste and the introduction of
modern recycling systems will bring business
opportunities for technology providers
in the medium term.
Many waste management export markets have
great potential for development. The USA and China
represent major opportunities for the recycling industry.
Sustainable construction conference in Graz
Graz University of Technology is hosting the Sustainable Built
Environment D-A-CH Conference 2019 in Graz (SBE19 Graz) from 11
to 14 September 2019. More than 400 participants form 20 countries
will discuss the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development (Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs) in the
construction sector. The conference will be supported by the Green
Tech Cluster and will focus on the evaluation and certification of
sustainable life cycles, including: evaluation of environmental products;
design and manufacturing processes with a view to integrating design
processes and life cycles; the Cities and Infrastructure theme is taking
a close look at the circular economy for environmental buildings;
under Innovation & Implementation the focus will include innovative
products and systems for sustainable buildings.
www.tugraz.at/en/events/sbe19
Lean innovation for businesses
Both start-ups and established businesses can develop their
products and services quickly, cost-effectively and successfully
using the lean start-up principles of build – measure – learn. The
Green Tech Cluster’s Green & Lean Innovation workshop is tailored
to individual businesses, applying the underlying principles,
developing the Lean Canvas tool, and defining hypotheses for
iterative customer integration in order to maximise the rate of
learning. The lean canvas and lean start-up methods are also
available in the Green Tech Cluster Plug & Play Innovation Box.
Contact details: Tobias Schwab, +43 316 407744 14,
schwab@greentech.at www.greentech.at/innovationsbox
Three trends for China
Three trends worth watching for China:
Separation of waste is not working, and this
is leading to major problems, above all with
thermal processing. The switch from untreated
landfill storage to thermal processing
is being accelerated in order to generate
energy. There are plans to increase capacity
for treatment of biological waste to
40,000 tonnes per day by 2020. In summary:
The construction of new recycling, sorting,
composting, fermentation and incineration
plants will continue to be a major issue
in the coming years.
The USA also has enormous potential for
environmental technology companies
wanting to enter the US waste market in
future. These opportunities result from the
country’s increasing volumes of waste, the
growth in sustainability initiatives and increased
regulatory requirements for sorting
and waste disposal businesses.
Federal states regulate recycling
The recycling and disposal of waste in the
USA is primarily regulated by individual
states, so each state has its own rules. In
Florida, waste processing facilities have recently
been required to separate construction
and demolition waste on the basis of
recyclability. The Government of Illinois also
has specific directives for the disposal and
recycling of waste: batteries, waste oil and
tyres may not be disposed of at rubbish
dumps.
Statutory guidelines focus on reducing and
recycling waste. California, with its nine programmes,
is the leader in the USA. Participation
in the programmes gives green tech
businesses the opportunity to gather information
about sector bottlenecks and market
difficulties.
Photo credits: Shutterstock
Photo credits: Green Tech Cluster, Shutterstock
Young people shape a green future
The interdisciplinary student hackathon Green Tech Jam 2019 was
dedicated to creative environmental technology solutions. Students
puzzled over new digital services for two days and were awarded a
prize of 5,000 Euros. Three teams all emerged victorious, winning
over the jury with their creative solutions. The first team developed
a mobile app enabling individuals to optimise their use of PV systems
in shared occupancy buildings. The second winning team came up
with an exciting virtual reality recycling plant. The third team inspired
the jury with an innovative app to enhance the user experience for
e-car hire. This was the third Green Tech Jam and was a collaboration
between Graz University of Technology and the Green Tech Cluster.
www.greentechcluster.at/jam2019