Urban Management and Development MSc students participated in the Port Transition Challenge organised by Erasmus University Rotterdam and Resilient Delta. This 24-hour event required the students to identify a specific problem facing the Port of Rotterdam and compete in teams to develop a fitting solution for the port's future. There were ten teams in total, each working to find innovative solutions.
Circular materials for future-proofing the Port of Rotterdam
The groups had to choose between two challenges surrounding future-proofing the Port of Rotterdam, and the IHS team decided to go with the challenge of circular materials. The goal of the challenge was to generate new ideas to tackle the immense amount of plastic accumulated in the Port of Rotterdam. The challenge was purposely designed so the students could focus on their idea of the actual problem.
The team decided to apply what they learned at IHS and take an organisational approach, proposing a network governance strategy to transition the plastic-producing actors on the port from using crude oil inputs to pyrolysis oil - a material made from melting down recycled plastic. As it turns out, the switch in inputs is such a small change in the existing process that the infrastructure/supply chain doesn't need to change, meaning that this minimal switch can lead to tremendous progress.
The issue to address further was to help the pyrolysis oil producers, both in the port and within the region, scale into the market and get the product to a competitive price. The team spent the majority of the evening getting to this conclusion and the rest of the evening formulating the facilitation responsibilities of the port and local government. In the coming weeks, they will meet with an official from the Port of Rotterdam to see if their proposal can carry any weight.
There’s a very hard 24 hours between our participants and the pitch of their solution. Let's see how they did!
Challenge Journal
12:00, IHS Team
The timer has started. The task: Circular Economy for Plastics in the Port of Rotterdam. The team: Chido, Rodrigo, Kai, Dakota, Tom. The time: 24 hours. The goal: A solution!
12:00, EUR-TU Delft-AMS Team
There is also another team whose members include another IHS student, Kika’s team. Our group consisted of students from multidisciplinary backgrounds in sustainable business, environmental engineering, and spatial design, coming from EUR, TU Delft and AMS Institute.
14:00, Both teams
First task - Problem Definition.
What are we dealing with? We live in a time when everyone relies on plastics, and there is no going back. In comparison, plastics production can be three times lower than that of other alternative materials in terms of GHS emission and energy consumption. How much plastic is used, recycled or burned? Because a large amount of plastic is consumed, we face a serious problem: How can we respond to this unbalanced plastic waste and the limited place for recycling it? Where is the plastic going? Etc.
17:00, Both teams
The problem is defined after a lot of research… But how are we going to solve it?
Our teams defined the problem as the high cost of recycling plastics, so we need to find alternatives to make plastic waste more beneficial in the future.
19:00, Both teams
It’s dinner time! It smells great. There may even be dessert.
00:30, Both teams
Did we find the solution? Is network management — something we learned in our lectures — the way to go?
03:30, Both teams
Silent Disco rocks! The energy is high, and the music is good. Also, free mocktails!
04:30, Both teams
Back to work! Discussing some final details for our solution.
07:00, Both teams
Working on the presentation for the pitch, the minds are at a minimum capacity. Are we going to make it?
10:00, IHS Team
We came up with a three-step solution (track, invest, and scale) inspired by the transition frameworks and ideas we learned in class! Our solution identified pyrolysis (recycling plastic waste to become a crude oil substitute in plastic production) as the niche innovation and a necessary component of a circular plastic economy. Now, it’s pitch time.
10:00, EUR-TU Delft-AMS Team
As a solution, our team proposed the concept of bringing the port to the city — as a showcase and research centre for plastic recycling because we realized that recycling plastics, particularly for building materials, also has some externalities, such as microplastics. To make this achievable, we tried to link our solution with the theory of experimental cities that we got in class. Thanks to this theory, we got praise from the judge and won as the best solution for the circularity challenge!
10:00, Both teams
The presentation is done, and we're going home! We heard some great proposals for future-proofing the Port of Rotterdam. As tired as we are, we leave this place having learnt so much and feeling grateful for this amazing experience!
