Circular economy practices are increasingly necessary to protect the environment and reduce reliance on virgin resources. Making side and waste streams available to a wider market is vital. Digital platforms that facilitate the exchange of these streams between industries are a critical step toward achieving this goal. Through projects like TREASoURcE and platforms such as KiertoaSuomesta.fi, we are beginning to see how such tools can drive circularity and create new business opportunities.
Digital Marketplaces for Circular Economy
The platform KiertoaSuomesta.fi serves as a great example of how digital tools allow sellers and buyers of biobased side streams to connect. Available in Finnish, Swedish, and English, this tool enables them to trade resources that might otherwise be discarded as waste, and demonstrates how digital solutions can help extend the value chain of materials.
However, the challenge is not just about creating platforms. Success depends on changing mindsets around the use of alternative resources in circular products and processes. For example, side streams often need further development or quality testing before they can be repurposed. In many cases, the resources might require innovative new applications that haven’t been considered by the original producer. This leads to questions around who will bear the costs for quality control, product passes, and testing of these resources.
At NCCE (Norwegian Centre for Circular Economy), we have developed a similar solution: the Resource bank. This platform focuses on industrial side and waste streams, specifically targeting Norwegian businesses. Like KiertoaSuomesta.fi, the Resource bank aims to make resources more accessible and ensure that waste streams are not only disposed of but reused in ways that benefit the economy and the environment. By working with various industries, we are continuously exploring how these resources can be transformed into new products or used in innovative ways.
Overcoming the Challenges
Making these side streams available to a wider market through digital solutions is a big step forward, but there are still significant barriers to overcome. A digital tool is necessary but, on its own, insufficient to enable a more circular economy. Now comes the real work. Resource owners and potential users must collaborate to develop these new circular solutions, addressing the challenges together.
Logistics and quality are a concern. The side and waste streams must meet certain criteria before they can be used in new products. This involves substantial work in terms of testing and quality assurance. In some cases, there may not even be any current standards for quality assurance. Transporting these materials across regions can be costly, both in financial and environmental terms. The cost and quality of storage is another challenge – which again impacts the issue of quality control. How to share cost and risk in these activities are challenges that need to be addressed.
Moving Forward Together
A significant part of this work is getting companies to recognize the value of making their side and waste streams available to the market. Once the environmental and economic benefits of opening up for circular solutions are understood, a large portion of the job is done. What follows is the need to establish a good partnership and develop alternative uses for the resources. The question of which digital solution to adopt becomes secondary.
The success of platforms like KiertoaSuomesta.fi or NCCE’s Resource bank will not be about the technology itself. It’s about fostering the right mindset in the sectors and industries that produce these side streams. This will often be most successful on a regional level. When companies begin to realize that their waste or excess materials can be valuable to others, they are more willing to share these resources, collaborate, and put in the work to explore new circular economy models.
At NCCE, we aim to support businesses as they make this shift, providing them with the tools, knowledge, and success cases that demonstrate the benefits of participating in circular markets. Together with the TREASoURcE project and partners, we work to increase the use of side and waste streams, and see these as valuable resources that can create new business opportunities while protecting the environment.
Natalia Mathisen
Business developer, NCCE
TREASoURcE Advisory Board member
The text has originally been published on the TREASoURcE project’s website.