The technologies
The most important aspect of the new system is not being in contrast with the old technologies. The new technologies will be completely integrated on the current system and they will be part of a new way of dealing with biological waste.
The main technologies to be introduced are the bio-digester, the aquaculture and worm farming, the composting facility and the mushroom cultivation. However, a new way of dealing with waste involves also new services (the municipality and HVC will be the main actors in this), to transport the waste streams to the desired node of the new “net”
These 4 new systems will be part of the biological net, by selling or trading their waste streams. The aquaculture will also introduce a new fish production, while the bio-digester will introduce an effective way of using the biological waste (mainly manure), belonging to the current sate of the art in sustainable energy production. The composting facility will gather the raw food and plants waste to be composted and become fertilizer to be sold back to the agricultural system.
When the municipality will implement these 4 new technologies, they will start cooperating with the older “technologies” (such as the agriculture system, the animal husbandries and the hospitality industry). In terms of waste sub-system, there will be no contrasts because the old technologies will keep on working in the same way, producing the same waste. It will actually be a good introduction for the economy of the island, because the waste will be sold and money can be earned out of it. It will also reduce the need for biological materials from the mainland.
The actors
The actors involved will need to deal with some restrictions, due to the vital importance of waste separation, for the system to work and be in harmony in all its parts. As stated before, the waste needs to be reconsidered as food for other parts of the new net. To make this happen all the waste produced on the island need to be separated. The main point of contrast for the actors of the new system would be these restrictions, that will affect their way of dealing with waste. Separation will be needed for all the actors involved and schedules for the collection and shipping of these materials have to be set by the HVC new waste transportation “technology”. HVC will not have contrast with the new system because it will still be the main actor of waste collection and treatment (especially for the technical system). However, new introductions for the transportation of materials will result in adaptation and investments that might be stimulated by the municipality.
The municipality, as the main “director” of these new net will be not in contrast with it, because, even though it will require monetary efforts (especially at the beginning), this new biological closed loop will eventually result in incoming money and prestige from the tourism industry and the biological industry production.
Culture and behaviour
Waste is already part of the every-day life of households and companies on Texel. However, as stated above, the behaviour of people in terms of separating waste has to change in order to make the future design a success. The behaviour of the tourists also needs change. Tourism is an important industry for Texel, but a big disadvantage is that tourists produce large piles of waste. Tourists bring a lot of products to the island where it becomes waste after usage. There are no exact numbers known on how tourists separate their waste, but it is assumable that tourists throw all of their waste in the same bin since hotels or campings often do not offer a bin per waste type. In the future design, the tourists need to have changed their behaviour and separate their waste just like the households and companies on Texel. Touristplaces (hotels, campings) need to offer bins for all waste types so tourists can separate. Also, the future design will actively inform and involve the tourists into the introduced technologies with tours and workshops. Thus, behaviour is one of the most important aspects that has to be changed in order to make the future design a success.
The culture on Texel is already fulfilled with love for nature and the desire for independency from the mainland. The future design will only strengthen this culture. The technologies will reduce the waste streams and the need or biological materials from the mainland. The future behaviour will increase awareness and strengthen the relationships people have with the nature.
The relations between different elements
The three elements of the sub-system are: the technologies, the actors and the rules. In the current situation multiple sub-elements are interrelated with each other. The technologies are connected with the waste collectors, the regulators with the regulative rules, the cognitive and normative rules with the waste producers and so on (see picture below).
The future design strives to have more interrelations between these (sub-)elements. Waste producers should also be involved with the technologies for instance. In that way, they will become more aware of the importance of separating their waste. The ‘normative’ rules will automatically interrelate with all actors. More interrelations will increase the public awareness and strengthen the sustainibility of the sub-system.
The rules and regulations
The three types of rules that are distinguished are: regulative, normative and cognitive. A remarkable current regulative rule is that it is cheaper to have ‘general waste’ collected than ‘compostable waste’. Since for the future design separation of waste is crucial, this regulative rule will have to change in order to make the future design a success. It should be financially unattractive to produce general waste instead of separated waste.
However, most changes between the current situation and the future design will concern normative and cognitive rules. To make the future design a success, all the waste on the island has to be separated. Not participating in the waste separation has to become ‘not done’ for households, companies and tourists. The public awareness should increase. Primary schools have to be involved to learn young children about the importance of separating waste.