SAAR. wants to put sustainability on the agenda in the sports sector by processing discarded sports materials into circular sports products. When we look at material use in sports, it is mainly focused on performance. However, not every product serves an Olympic performance. It is therefore the right time to incorporate the circular use of materials in sports. SAAR. believes that sports, at any level, can be combined with sustainable use of materials. With the mindset that discarded sports equipment of today can serve as raw material for sports equipment of tomorrow, SAAR collects sports bottles. The initiative started in 2022 with the collection of sports bottles and water bottles. Bottles from overstock after sponsor change, found in sports chains or those gathering dust in your kitchen cabinet can serve as raw material for new sports articles. SAAR has set up a chain for the collection, sorting and processing of water bottles. The processed plastic from the bottles is used to make sports medals and interior products for sports locations, among other things. 100% of old sports bottles. Eurobottle and SAAR are working together to investigate the technical, legal and economic feasibility of making new water bottles from old ones in the future. In addition, Eurobottle helps the initiative by grinding collected sports bottles into granulate. Will your bottle be hanging around the neck of your sports hero soon? Or will you soon have a racing bike mudguard, made from the water bottles of your favorite cycling team? SAAR makes circular sports possible.
Initiators and background
SAAR. is an initiative of Marianne Vollebergh and Joris Petterson. Two young sustainable entrepreneurs who joined forces to bring about a change in sports. Designer Petterson and business developer Vollebergh found each other following a challenge from Sportinnovator for circular sports materials. With a broad portfolio of projects in which circularity was central, they were triggered by the challenge in the sports sector, which, when it comes to circularity and sustainability, still had a lot of ground to gain. Together they worked on the SAAR project. They developed the concept and started in September 2022 with the support of Sportinnovator in the implementation of the plan. One year later, a first chain has been established and bidons are actively being collected and processed from various corners of the country. In October 2023, the first podium medal made from old bidons was hung around an athlete’s neck.
Medals
A sports achievement to celebrate deserves a medal to be proud of. The first product made from old drinking bottles that SAAR. introduces is the podium medal. A prize with a story. The discarded bidons that SAAR. collected through sports locations or teams, they are processed into sheet material from which we make medals. The number cut-out translates the podium place of the winner, on the edge, lettering tells about the category, the date, the event and/or the organization. By processing the old sports bottle into a medal, the plastic gains more value than in its original form. It becomes a trophy to wear proudly, a memory to cherish. With the circular medals, we close the loop in a way that both the sports performance and the sustainable use of materials are highlighted!