In 2021, the Leuven Materialenbank (materials bank) saved 40 tonnes of building materials from being discarded. In 2022, that number rose to 60 tonnes and even to 192 tonnes in 2023, with the aim of scaling up further. The structural collaboration with social enterprise Wonen & Werken helps meet that ambition. The more waste streams we can locally revalue and redistribute within our city, the less dependent we are on rising material prices and limited availability. Moreover, this will significantly reduce our carbon emissions.
The partners within this project aim to further expand the city as an Urban Resource Centre, with building materials being one of the first waste streams to be targeted. Driven by the Platform Leuven Circulair and social circular hub 'C3000', the partners are working together to find solutions to shared challenges, such as:
- infrastructure
- supply/demand
- logistics
- communication
Your contact person
Who takes part?
Who are all the partners in the project?
Role of Leuven 2030?
In this breakthrough project we assume the following role(s):
Place in the Roadmap?
This breakthrough project is part of the following programmes of the Roadmap:
How does it work?
Leuven already has several successful circular initiatives, such as the Materialenbank, EcoWerf, Kringwinkel ViTeS and VELO. Analysis shows that the greatest impact on an urban scale is realised when we focus on specific, large material and product flows, building materials in particular.
Circular processes often require a lot of space: storage, transportation, processing and distribution all require ample room. One of the biggest challenges is setting up infrastructure with sufficient capacity for handling multiple material streams. New collaborations between commercial players, the social economy, research institutions, civic initiatives and the city will be indispensable for success.
Leuven 2030 brings these partners together within this breakthrough project, and has sought and found funds to support the project from Net Zero Cities - the European platform that supports mission cities in the implementation of their Climate City Contract. For a period of six months, an independent expert will be working with this group of partners to explore innovative cooperation models to realise their shared ambitions.
Project kick-off and consultation rounds
Exploratory phase with partners
First multi-stakeholder meeting
Business development expert support starts
Urban Resource Centre requirements defined in time for new coalition agreement
Business development expert handover to the partners
Project kick-off and consultation rounds
Exploratory phase with partners
First multi-stakeholder meeting
Business development expert support starts
Urban Resource Centre requirements defined in time for new coalition agreement
Business development expert handover to the partners
Why is this project important?
Leuven already has several successful circular initiatives, such as the Materialenbank, EcoWerf, Kringwinkel ViTeS and VELO. Analysis shows that the greatest impact on an urban scale is realised when we focus on specific, large material and product flows, building materials in particular.
Circular processes often require a lot of space: storage, transportation, processing and distribution all require ample room. One of the biggest challenges is setting up infrastructure with sufficient capacity for handling multiple material streams. New collaborations between commercial players, the social economy, research institutions, civic initiatives and the city will be indispensable for success.
Leuven 2030 brings these partners together within this breakthrough project, and has sought and found funds to support the project from Net Zero Cities - the European platform that supports mission cities in the implementation of their Climate City Contract. For a period of six months, an independent expert will be working with this group of partners to explore innovative cooperation models to realise their shared ambitions.
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