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02    Trash scan/day at a Department

Trash scan

In the exploration phase into the circularity challenge at ARTIS, a trash can with waste manager Renewi and our living lab case owner, Abel, formed the first activity. This allowed for insight into the different waste streams the visitors create in the zoo. The scan revealed a grand total of 17 different streams with a substantial number of products consisting of multiple streams making it difficult to classify and separate. Another noteworthy result was the abundance of PET bottles, which ARTIS no longer sells. These bottles have been brought in by visitors and show the limited control the zoo has on this waste stream. Furthermore, previous studies conducted by ARTIS into the possibilities of changing visitors waste disposal behaviour showed no results. As a result, we decided not to pursue a transition in waste created by visitors.  

 

Day at the DC

To become embedded in ARTIS, several days were spent working in an ARTIS department. We wanted to get acquainted with the organisational structures of the zoo and find out how the employees deal with waste problems they encountered on a daily basis. 

 

The first day was spent with the ‘Dienstencentrum’ (DC) at the beginning of the research phase. It is a distribution center for all goods that are used in the park. The main takeaway from this day were the connections with the employees at the DC. This proved to be very convenient in the next steps of the project, such as the borrowing of materials and the use of spaces. 

 

The second day was spent with the Elephants. The elephant caretakers feed and train the animals as well as clean their enclosure. This day took place near the end of the research phase after we had identified elephant manure as the focus of this living lab. The main takeaway from this day was insight in how the caretakers deal with the large quantities of manure the elephants produce daily. 

 

All in all, spending these days with these departments really helped to spread awareness about our project within the company, and to bind people to our cause. 

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