US+CE+Study_FINAL_2018.pdf

Business case

Direct and indirect effects that increase revenues or the potential for new revenues, for example from new products, customer segments, partnerships or business models

Revenue Potential

Impact on the ease of innovation, and facilitating uptake of innovations

Innovation

Reduced green house gas emissions released into the biosphere

Reduce Emissions (SDG13)

Reduced use of virgin materials and/or an increase of the use of secondary and bio-based materials

Reduce Material Consumption (SDG12)

Minimise waste through diversion: Instead of sending waste to landfill, it is redirected into other industrial processes for handling, treatment, recycling, recovery, or reuse in various forms. 

Minimise waste through design: At the outset of a process of project, plan and design such that there is zero waste or minimal waste during production, use, and at end of life. 

Minimise Waste (SDG12)

Producing basic and specialty chemicals, inks, agricultural chemical such as fertilisers and pesticides, plastics including packaging, and rubber

Chemical and Plastic

Using materials that can be easily reused or recycled after use

Reusable, recyclable materials and inputs

Transforming waste products, materials for reuse within the same industry

Closed loop upcycling

Designing products to resist damage and wear, and serve a long and useful life.

Design for physical durability

Impacts

small_climate-4803653_640.jpg

thumbnail_climate-4803653_640.jpg

climate-4803653_640.jpg

Industries

small_coast-wind-turbine-sea-sky.jpg

thumbnail_coast-wind-turbine-sea-sky.jpg

coast-wind-turbine-sea-sky.jpg

The principles of a circular economy concern designing out waste, regenerating ecosystems and keeping items in use. Decoupling the economy from material flows—improving the rate of resource productivity faster than the economic growth rate—is also a consistent guide. By evolving with the growing number of applications of circular economy principles, and consolidating these strategies across thematic areas, Circle Economy’s Key Elements Framework (KE) renders the elements of the circular economy salient and serves as a basis to derive contextual strategies and interventions. 


The Framework consists of:
- Core Elements: Activities directly handling product or material flows; and uniquely,
- Enabling Elements: those that remove obstacles for core actors.


Key elements of the circular economy

large_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

medium_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

small_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

thumbnail_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

Circle Economy's framework of strategies and activities that define the circular economy

![Screen Shot 2024-10-21 at 16.53.12.png](https://goldilocks-images.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Screen_Shot_2024_10_21_at_16_53_12_12858da6aa.png)

Based on the work of [Bocken et al. (2016)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309699661_Product_design_and_business_model_strategies_for_a_circular_economy), the Four Flows Framework serves as a simple framework for managing resource flows in a circular economy by using less (Narrow), using for longer (Slow), using again (Cycle), and using clean, regenerative materials and energy (Regenerate).

These different principles of circular economy can be applied to our socioeconomic metabolism: we can design stocks like buildings, infrastructure, machinery, and vehicles to be rich resource mines for the future, and design manufactured goods and consumables to be cycled and made regenerative. Furthermore, the focus must also centre on getting more value out of fewer materials. Achieving the aims of a circular economy—minimising material use, regenerating the Earth, and preventing material losses—can be done through these four key strategies mentioned above.

Source: Circle Economy. (2023). *[The circularity gap report 2023](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023)* (p.22). Amsterdam: Circle Economy. 

Four Flows Framework

medium_Screen Shot 2024-10-21 at 16.53.12.png

small_Screen Shot 2024-10-21 at 16.53.12.png

thumbnail_Screen Shot 2024-10-21 at 16.53.12.png

Screen Shot 2024-10-21 at 16.53.12.png

Novoloop’s first product, Oistre, is a type of thermoplastic urethane (TPU). TPU is commonly used in footwear soles and waterproof clothing; the fashion industry alone uses an estimated 150,000 metric tonnes annually. Oistre performs as well as virgin TPU in performance tests – it is both strong, flexible and highly durable – and crucially is worth 50 times more than the PE it is recycled from, making it genuine upcycling. “Globally, 550,000 metric tonnes of TPU is used each year. If brand owners were to adopt Oistre into their TPU applications this could prevent up to 275,000 metric tonnes of PE plastics from entering landfills and rivers every year,” Wang says. The climate benefits would also be significant. “Oistre also contains up to 45 per cent lower CO2e than fossil fuel-based TPU.”Novoloop has partnered with the City of San Jose to upcycle its municipal PE waste, and the company is now partnering with brands to turn Oistre into products. “We partner with brands that are concerned about sustainability, namely footwear, apparel, automotive and sporting goods industries to name just a few,” Wang says. “By brands adopting Oistre we can keep a significant amount of plastic waste out of landfills, incinerators or waterways – up to 25,000 metric tonnes per year by 2026.”In 2019, Wang was named a Rolex Awards for Enterprise Laureate, to support Novoloop’s work in addressing plastic pollution. Launched in 1976 to mark the 50th anniversary of the iconic Oyster wrist watch, the annual Rolex Awards for Enterprise have to date supported 155 exceptional individuals from around the world whose work is dedicated to addressing global challenges, preserving our natural and cultural heritage, or advancing our understanding of planet Earth. “[Rolex] has connected me with an inspiring community during my early and formative years as an entrepreneur. Without the Rolex Awards, it would have been much harder to move Novoloop’s technology forward when we were still in early development,” Wang says.Novoloop is growing fast, as are other novel solutions to our plastic problem. According to a recent Google-funded research paper, chemical recycling capacity needs to increase by up to 135 times by 2040 in order to keep up with our plastic waste. Meanwhile, Novoloop is developing new materials and recycling methods for other forms of waste plastic, in its mission to transform single-use and poorly-recycled plastics into long-lasting, valuable materials. “We are obsessed with showing what can be done with plastic waste,” Wang says. “We will be expanding our capabilities to break down plastic waste and build a larger and larger platform of performance products to keep the carbons inside plastics in play.”For Wang, Oistre is a small but significant step towards solving the plastic pollution crisis. “By upcycling PE into Oistre, Novoloop is proving that there is high value in post-consumer plastics that today’s recycling technology cannot recycle,” Wangs says. “And that a circular economy is achievable.”To find out more about Rolex Laureate Miranda Wang’s initiative, please visit Rolex.org, and explore our Planet Pioneers partnership page here.

   Novoloop technology turns polyethylene waste into a virgin-quality performance polymer  Novoloop/David Salpeter  
Plastics normally bound for the landfill are getting a new life from California startup Novoloop. The company upcycles polyethylene, a plastic that’s widely used but rarely recycled.  With $11 million recently raised in Series A financing and a new partnership with Bemis Associates, Novoloop’s CEO says the company is one step closer to putting out products with the first chemically upcycled plastic called Oistre.  The Novoloop plastic is a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) for use in footwear, apparel, sporting goods, automotive and electronics.  “We are going to be scaling up our tech to make more than 1 metric ton of Oistre TPU to sample with footwear and sporting goods brands,” says CEO Miranda Wang, also a cofounder.  The waste polyethylene is sourced from Southern California and partners include GreenWaste Recovery in San Jose.
Novoloop’s process technology, known as Accelerated Thermal Oxidative Decomposition, breaks down polyethylene into chemical building blocks that can be synthesized and used in high-value products.

   Oistre (pronounced OYST-rah) is named after the humble oyster, one of nature’s star waste upcyclers.  Novoloop/David Salpeter  

Formerly known as XIRC, Oistre is billed as the first thermoplastic polyurethane made from post-consumer polyethylene waste that matches the performance characteristics of virgin TPUs made from petrochemicals.  What’s more, Oistre’s carbon footprint is up to 46% smaller than conventional thermoplastic polyurethanes, based on a life cycle assessment by Aspire Sustainability.  The Series A was led by Envisioning Partners with participation from Valo Ventures and Bemis Associates. Earlier investors who joined the round included SOSV, Mistletoe and TIME Ventures.
The joint partnership with Bemis aims to use the upcycled Oistre product in apparel bonding solutions such as seam tapes found in high-performance outwear. Bemis says in a news release that scaling Novoloop’s breakthrough will be “a huge step in shifting away from virgin petroleum sources and reducing our products’ carbon footprints.”
Novoloop is reportedly engaged with a number of consumer brands for footwear and apparel applications using Oistre. Those other partnerships aren’t ready to be revealed yet.
“All I can say right now is that we are initially starting with helping Bemis increase the sustainability of their seam tape product,” Wang says. “This is used for many applications including waterproofing performance outerwear. 
“The plan between us is to over time, replace all the virgin fossil-based TPU Bemis is using with Novoloop's Oistre. They are very serious about leading on this front.”
Wang notes that for every kilogram of Oistre created, 0.5 kg of polyethylene plastic waste is upcycled, and 4-5 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions is prevented. 
Novoloop is sampling and taking pre-orders for Oistre 65A, a soft grade polyester TPU for injection molding that’s especially suitable for footwear applications. Higher durometer (harder material) grades of Oistre TPU will be introduced soon.
   Members of the Novoloop team   Novoloop/Wiatrak  


San Jose

large_blob

medium_blob

small_blob

thumbnail_blob

blob

Novoloop has developed technology to upcycle polymer waste into high quality polymer products.

Novoloop

Bemis

<p>Although polyethylene is notionally one of the easiest plastics to recycle, limited amounts actually are recycled: in the US, in 2018, only 4.3% of LDPE was recycled [Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures Report Data Tables, 2018]. Novoloop has developed a process for using LDPE as a basis for creation of Oistre™, their higher performance thermoplastic polyurethane product.</p>