Young Estonians create surplus materials online marketplace
A group of young people in Estonia have created a web platform that allows industrial companies to advertise and find surplus materials.
The Materjalivoog website that is the only one of its kind in the Baltic region was created by five young Estonian women. The platform allows companies to sell their surplus materials and those looking to recycle to buy them.
The aim of the project is to promote circular economy and reduce material being thrown away.
Mayri Tiido, one of the founders of Materjalivoog, said that the idea was to make recycling easier for companies.
"It was the deadline of the Negavatt competition and we had three hours. We quickly jotted down our idea to try and find out what happens to material left over from production. Perhaps we need a platform where companies can offer to sell what they don't need and buy what they're missing," she said.
The Materjalivoog website gives companies a good way to recycle.
Adding products on the website and talking to potential buyers still takes more time than destroying the leftover material. Anny Drobet, designer at sports apparel maker Trimtex, finds that sustainability and recycling outweigh the time cost.
"We are of the mind that good things take time and are willing to contribute our own to make this a good thing," she said.
Entrepreneur Karin Rask, whose companies are built on recycling, finds that the new platform makes her life easier.
"I have been looking for factories and partners myself so far. I believe this platform will make that easier," Rask said.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski