Global circular economy leader and CEO of Leadax, Roeland van Delden presented his closed-loop strategy that is already impacting cities worldwide, during the Futurebuild exhibition in London. Sustainable companies like Leadax, are developing circular products that use waste as a raw material to create and produce recyclable and sustainable waterproofing building materials.
Features such as cost price, quality, capital and scalability are important to change the way our economy works, however as Mr van Delden described in his presentation, it is all about mindset and being creative. “Just do it” was the main advice he gave. His idea of modifying PVB-waste to reuse for circular building materials like Leadax was a bold move, but it works extremely well. PVB is the foil that is used in laminated glass (e.g car windows or safety glass). Large amounts of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) waste are being buried every year, up to 1,500,000,000 kilos each year in Europe alone and Leadax is using this waste to create their sustainable building materials.
Designed for reuse
Current products for waterproofing buildings aren’t sustainable, have a large carbon footprint and are (often) toxic. To be aligned with the UN sustainability goals to create a sustainable environment there had to be a solution. Part of this solution is not only using waste as a raw material, but ‘closing the loop,’ which is why all Leadax products have been designed with reuse in mind.
The new lead
The first innovative product from Leadax is an alternative solution for the toxic and often stolen heavy metal lead which is still being used in construction as a flashing material. This Leadax product is already being sold in 15 countries globally and contributes to the environmental well-being of our society. Daniel Marshall, Sales Director of Cromar Building Products commented:
“We are proud to be part of this exciting journey to contribute to a more sustainable and safer building environment as the exclusive distributor for the UK.”
Making an impact
Large scale reduction of CO2, increasing autonomy of resources and technology, decreasing large amounts of waste, creating new jobs in the cleantech and developing sustainable solutions for toxic materials like lead, are all achievable. Working together at a multi-level cooperation of international stakeholders with the right mentality can make a real impact.
Mr van Delden concluded that he is excited about Leadax vision for the future and the role it will play in developing a global circular economy.
To find out more about Leadax products visit the dedicated website www.leadax.co.uk or www.cromar.uk.com