Steel slag becomes green oasis
In the design course called ‘Making’, Tom Jaring and fellow students thought of something to do with one of the largest industrial waste streams in the Netherlands: steel slag. This waste product is created at Tata Steel in the production of steel. ‘Steel slag absorbs CO2 and nitrogen and could therefore serve perfectly as a sound barrier’, says Jaring. Just before the summer holidays, Tom's elaboration of this idea into a business plan was declared the winner of the BK Launch Studio.
Jaring grew up in France in the midst of nature and this has left a deep impact. With the sound wall, he therefore also wants to contribute to a green environment and bring nature closer to people. ‘This is how the idea came about to make the sound wall suitable for plant growth and for bees and birds that have such a hard time anyway,' says Jaring. He chose ‘Meraki’ as brand name, which is modern Greek for ‘putting your soul into what you are doing, without expecting something back.’ In the BK-Launch Studio, he took his idea further through talks with Tata Steel, potential producers and customers, among others.
More information
- Read Tom Jaring's full story on the 4TU.Federation website where it was published earlier.
- Read more here on the BK Launch studio or here more in a research story.