In terms of collection, Stichting Kringloopbedrijf Het Warenhuis in Leiden is one of the largest second-hand and recycling companies in the Netherlands. Of the annual collection of three million kilos of goods, around thirty per cent is unsaleable. In the Circulair Warenhuis, Stichting Kringloopbedrijf Het Warenhuis joins forces with Popma ter Steege Architects, buro bordo and Raw Color to find new ways of reusing and raising awareness. Designers Nienke Hoogvliet, Max Lipsey, Studio Makkink & Bey and Fraser McPhee have each researched a flow of waste materials and developed a prototype that can be produced in the workshops at Het Circulair Warenhuis. An in-house concept store displays these prototypes, shows examples of the global traditions of recycling from four museums in Leiden and sells high quality second-hand goods, upcycled and circular products from Dutch designers.

This is the application of design in its broadest sense. Raw materials, design and production come together here in an exemplary project. The careful, step-by-step approach demonstrates not only a knowledge of the chains but also indicates how good the original request was and showcases a multifaceted collaboration. The selection of leading designers is solid, and the project is conceptually successful. The Circulair Warenhuis is not based only on a few products or pre-conceived flavour formulas, but is all about a diversity of input, processes and possible outcomes. Scalability is incorporated into the underlying thought processes and an emphatic opportunity to follow this example from Leiden. It encourages a varied approach to tackling waste flows and making them relevant.