
A deeper dive into my journalistic work, featuring articles that explore innovative solutions and critical challenges across diverse sectors.
From groundbreaking CO2 reuse technologies to the complexities of recycling, renewable energy, food systems, water management, and EU policy, as well as the impact of environmental issues on health, these stories reflect my commitment to uncovering significant developments that shape our world.
Reuse of CO2 and CO
In 2011, I started to explore which technologies were being developed to recycle the most notorious waste material of our time: carbon dioxide. It led to the discovery of a then unknown Icelandic company that was building the world’s first industrial-scale plant to recycle carbon dioxide from flue stack emissions into fuel by using renewable energy.
Currently, many innovations to recycle carbon dioxide are moving out of the lab and are being scaled up. For example, Dutch company DyeCoo has developed the first technology worldwide to dye textiles by using supercritical carbon dioxide instead of water. This eliminates the discharge of chemically polluted waste water.
More than 50 media, such as Zeit Online, Wall Street Journal and GreenBiz, linked to or reviewed my story about DyeCoo, which was written for Yale Environment 360.


Can waterless dyeing processes clean up the clothing industry?
Recycling
Recycling is a cornerstone of sustainable development, conserving resources and mitigating environmental harm.
From dismantling oil platforms with advanced vessels to repurposing materials from retired aircraft, these efforts highlight the critical importance of recycling in creating a circular economy and reducing our ecological footprint.

Boom time for carbon fibre recycling

Investing in the future of urban mining

Weight-lifting record

Out of the skies
Renewable Energy
The transition to renewable energy faces significant challenges despite its critical role in combating climate change and ensuring sustainable development.
Scarcity of essential metals like rare earth elements, crucial for technologies such as wind turbines and electric vehicles, could pose a major obstacle.
Also, the shortage of funding for new technologies, coupled with the substantial time required for their development, presents significant hurdles.

Obstakels voor cleantech

Money to burn

Scarce by nature

Dreigend metaaltekort voor duurzame energie
Food
The modern food system is a complex web of challenges and opportunities. From innovative approaches like Chocolatemakers' bean-to-bar concept and Community Supported Agriculture to the persistent issues of food waste, our agricultural landscape is in flux.
These articles underscore the ongoing struggle to build a more equitable, sustainable, and efficient food system in the face of global challenges.

Kleine spelers tonen weg naar duurzame chocolade. Wanneer volgen grote spelers en consument?

Aandelen in groente

Eenderde van productie bereikt maag niet

Gerommel met biologische tomaat
Water
Water, essential for life on Earth, is at the center of significant environmental challenges. Plastic pollution has become a widespread issue, contaminating oceans and entering the food chain, potentially impacting health.
Meanwhile, intensive agriculture, such as the greenhouse complexes in southern Spain, are depleting precious water resources. Growing winter vegetables in arid regions raises concerns about the sustainability of our food systems and the environmental cost of year-round produce availability.
These problems highlight the necessity for innovative solutions to protect water resources and rethink our approach to food production and plastic use.

How Ecover plans to create the Ocean Bottle

De echte prijs van wintergroente
Health
New health threats continue to emerge in our world, with nanoparticles being a notable example. These tiny particles are increasingly present in various products, raising concerns about their safety and potential health impacts.
Concurrently, long-standing threats like air pollution persist, posing significant risks to public health. As these health challenges evolve, understanding and managing both emerging and established threats becomes increasingly important for public health.

Nanodeeltjes: een vloek of een zegen? We weten het niet en dat is een probleem.

Beijing: bijna alle dagen bewolkt
EU Policy
From April 2015 to September 2017, I wrote a monthly column about Europe's waste and recycling sectors for Recycling & Waste World (UK).
I discovered, among others, that the EU is spending only a sliver of their multi-billion euro budget on recycling projects. This stands in sharp contrast to ambitious plans of creating a circular economy in the EU, which requires much more funding.

A resource revolution? Don’t hold your breath

Worrying numbers put CEP into perspective

Action’s needed, but talk is almost all there is

Mercury, crime and ‘lost cars’ top the EU agenda
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