Local , circular , sustainable and innovative . This is the unique demonstration task align between Releaf , Agaris and the City of Ghent . For this labor , the partners investigate how green waste from the local arena , in peculiar grass thriftlessness from urban spaces , can be reprocess and raise into a renewable raw material for potting soil .
Local and sustainableIt is a well - known fact within the horticultural sector : the inclination to utilize less peat in substrates . This has prompt many substrate producer to appear for high - quality , renewable tender materials . And this type of creation is also a priority for Agaris . “ We have noticed a general shift from using peat , ” explain Jeroen De Zaeytijd , Innovation Manager at Agaris . “ This is why , as a substratum producer , we are always front for raw , sooner local , gamy - tone raw materials . ”
This was the impetus to get together with Releaf , a Ghent start - up . Their delegacy is to upgrade green waste streams from agriculture , metropolis and municipality . “ Today , a lot of green agricultural biomass stay on the athletic field , and clipping from city are serve into compost ; but we want to get more out of this biomass waste by using it as a unsanded material , ” enthuse Sander Lybaert , researcher at Releaf .
The curing - up ? Releaf processes the cuttings , supplied by the City of Ghent , into a fibrous pulp magazine and a soluble fraction . Agaris then action the grass fibers into a substratum that has been tested and optimized via ontogenesis test at the Ornamental Plant Research Centre in Destelbergen . Ultimately , the City of Ghent will recycle the substrate for planting urban greenery . This will close up the circle : the green waste watercourse will be processed into newfangled raw fabric , locally and as optimally as possible .
unparalleled collaborationEach mate in this undertaking adds its own time value , and the coaction between the different mate is quite unique . “ Often an app is developed without the engagement of the person who will market the covering , ” excuse Sander . “ It ’s completely different here . Thanks to our collaboration with Agaris , we can test whether the software we are developing is valuable . Agaris ’s technical cognition and experience has proven invaluable to Releaf . After all , they can make the rendering between product ontogenesis and the stand for software . And that ’s the great affair about this project : we both have the same interest , with a common end . ”
“ That ’s correct , ” confirms Jeroen . “ Agaris and Releaf have many common interests and interface : the pursuit in circularity , excogitation , sustainability , and moreover , Ghent . Extraction of the raw material , enquiry and developing , up to the last diligence , all withdraw place in Ghent . This is what makes it a very overnice demonstration project in our own backyard . ”
For more information : AgarisSkaldenstraat 7a9042 Gent , Belgium+32 9 218 03 30[email protected]www.agaris.eu
