Frequently Asked Questions

Well, in this case, the word cradle in itself means ‘birthplace’, making this a perfect word for what cradle to cradle means. It implies a closed loop, for instance when a product is made, it can be used until it doesn’t function (well enough) anymore. It is then returned to the place of origin (where it was made) and completely recycled. All elements necessary for production is therefore produced and recycled at the same place. An example in water technology: Agricultural machines used for spraying plant protection products/ pesticides need to be cleaned. The water used for this becomes contaminated and should not be flushed through the sewer or flow to surface water. Therefore this water is captured and filtered using a biofilter, cleaning the water from pesticides and pathogens (coming from the fields). In this way the cleaned water is not spilled and can be used over and over again for cleaning agricultural machines. Pesticides will be in the biofilter, which will need to be replaced every now and then. The biofilter will be processed in such a way that it can be used again and chemicals/ nutrients coming out of the filter can be reused.