However, they often do not know how they can or should get started, what steps they can take and what options their company has. VITO helps them to establish this through tailor-made guidance and training. We often want to make the change but we are unaware of the consequences our choices have. For example, think of solar panels as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. But what happens when these panels are broken or are no longer working? And what about the down side of solar panels - the fact that we are not yet able to store the energy they generate effectively? VITO is intensively seeking solutions.
The mountain of waste has been a concern to us for a long time. VITO is not just researching waste processing, but also the way in which waste is collected, retrieved, sorted and further processed. Waste streams still contain expensive metals such as chromium. VITO not only researches how we can trace and extract the precious metals in that waste, but also studies how those recovered metals can be incorporated into a production process and transformed into a high-quality, sustainable product.
However, circular economy also involves awareness. That is why we carry out a calculation of what is the cheapest and most sustainable method for a citizen if one of his/her household appliances has broken. By doing so, we prove that throwing away and renewing appliances is often the worst and most expensive choice.
