Curaçao: Radiant yet Polluted

Final report

Client: John Amarica, Selikor.

School: Calandlyceum Amsterdam.
Class: 5 vwo O&O 2021-2022.
Students: Stijn Hagman, Otto Geerlings, Youri van der Kuij and Ryan van Vuure.
Definitive edit: January 9th 2022
Information

Authors
Otto Geerlings (16), class 5v3, acting supervisor.
Ryan van Vuure (16), class 5v3.
Stijn Hagman (16), class 5v3, team supervisor.
Youri van der Kuij (15), class 5v4.

Who are we?

We are Stijn, Otto, Ryan and Youri. We go to a secondary school called “Calandlyceum” in
Amsterdam. In school we follow the subject “O&O” or “R&D”. The progress we made during
this project is recorded on our group website1.

Teachers
G. van Soelen, O&O teacher
gvansoelen@calandlyceum.nl

D. Lembekker, O&O teacher

dlembekker@calandlyceum.nl

Client
Our client is Selikor. It is Selikor’s mission to
actively explore and utilize recycling options that
will best reduce the carbon footprint on Curaçao.
Our contact within Selikor is done with John
Amarica, he works at Selikor in the logistics
department.

Data
This project was scheduled from 30/8/2021 until 10/1/2022. This means that we were tasked
with finding a Client before the 30th of August in 2021 and that we had to hand in this final
report on the 10th of January in 2022.

1
Our group’s website can be found at: https://sites.google.com/view/groepswebsite-groepje-1

2
1. Preface
In the preface, we will discuss the process of finding a client and tell a little bit about our
school.

1.1 Research and Design

Our school teaches us the education known as “Technasium”. Technasium is an education
within VWO comparable with gymnasium, the difference being that instead of Latin and
Greek we receive lessons in the Research and Design (R&D) course for 6 hours a week for
all the 6 years of our school time. For this course we complete assignments for major
companies and organizations, concerning ourselves with their problems. Our teams get to
find their clients themselves. For this project, our teachers tasked us with finding a client that
works for an organization that tries to improve the world.

Within the course R&D we learn about collaborating, planning, researching, designing,
marketing and so much more. In these 6 years we also get to know a wide range of
professionals, professions, studies and fields of research. The experiences we get through
R&D play a large role in our future, because they can alter the ways in which we perceive
the professional world.

3
1.2 Finding a client
In early September we were tasked with finding a client. Our teachers instructed us to find a
client who helped people and was located in another country than the Netherlands. This was
a difficult task, mainly because we did not have many connections outside of the
Netherlands. Luckily our teammate Otto had lived in Curaçao for over half a year in 2020,
during this period of time he had
developed a small amount of connections
within the island. This is where our search
for a client began. After a short amount of
time we came into contact with the RdK,
Refineria di Kòrsuo, unfortunately they did
not have an assignment for us because of
external factors. They did however, have
other connections with people that could
help us. And with the help of Refinera di
Kòrsuo we came into contact with Selikor,
Selikor is an organization that concerns
itself with waste removal in Curaçao. After
a few emails going to and from our
teammate Otto Geerlings and John
Amarica from Selikor, Selikor agreed to be
our client for this R&D project.

1.3 Getting an assignment

When we found a client our next focus was to find a way in which we could help them. Otto
and John Amarica communicated about the assignment through mail. It was not hard
identifying an issue because of the help provided by John Amarica. We made a few
suggestions to mister Amarica and within a week we had agreed on an assignment: Helping
with the recycling of some waste streams, for example, of old tyres. At the moment, tyres are
landfilled, but Selikor wants us to help change this situation.

4
2. Summary
In this chapter we have summarized the assignment that we received from our client,
Selikor. One of the big challenges for waste collection and management in Curaçao is the
processing of specific waste streams such as tyres, glass and wooden pallets.The tyres are
separated and stockpiled at a landfill so they can be processed (e.g. recycled) separately
from regular garbage (which is simply landfilled). Currently, nothing happens with these tyres
because there is no way to process tyres in Curaçao. Eventually the tyres end up being
landfilled. In the warm and dry climate of
Curaçao, tyres are prone to catch fire. This
results in the emission of many harmful
chemicals. These can be harmful for
surrounding residents, wildlife and nature when
breathed in. To combat this, we have helped
Selikor by imagining a detailed solution to one
of their waste problems. In this document we
will describe the deliverables that have been
made to reach our final design, the current
situation in Curaçao, all of our ideas we had, the
idea we eventually chose and of course why
and how we finalised that idea. Finally, we have
given a final recommendation to our client
Selikor on which idea we think is the best
solution for their problem and why we think that.

5
Table of contents
Information 2
Authors 2
Who are we? 2
Teachers 2
Client 2
Data 2

1. Preface 3
1.1 Research and Design 3
1.2 Finding a client 4
1.3 Getting an assignment 4

2. Summary 5

3. Introduction 8

4. Client 9
4.1 Selikors mission 9

5. Assignment 11

6. Situation 12

7. Planning 13

8. Preliminary research 14
8.1 Preliminary research: waste types 14
8.2 Preliminary research: Waste processing 17

9. Plan of Requirements 18
9.1 Environmental requirements 18
9.2 Inhabitant requirements 19
9.3 Design requirements 19

10. Various Ideas 20

10.0.1 Brainstorming Technique 20
10.1 Wood 20
10.1.1 MDF planks (Medium-Density Fibreboard) 20
10.1.2 Wooden planks 20
10.1.3 Biomass generator 20
10.1.4 Charcoal 20
10.2 Glass 21
10.2.1 Art 21
10.2.2 Smelter 21
10.2.3 Bottle Refilling Station 21

6
 10.3 Tyres 22
10.3.1 Artificial Reef 22
10.3.2 Permeable Pavement 22
10.3.3 Rubberized Asphalt 22
10.3.4 Cryogenic Recycling 22
10.3.5 Non-Cryogenic Rubber Granulating 22
10.4 Trade-off Matrix 23
10.5 Top 3 23

11. Substantiated Choice 24

12. Detailed Idea 26

12.1 Principle of Operation 26
12.2 Components 27

13. 3D-model 28
13.1 Tyre shredder 29
13.2 Steel liberator 29
13.3 Output 30

14. Validation 31
14.1 Environmental requirements 31
14.2 Inhabitant requirements 31
14.3 Design requirements 31

15. Conclusion 32

17. Sources 33

18. Attachments 34
18.1 Attachment A: planning 34
18.2 Attachment B: Trade-off matrix 36

7
3. Introduction
Last year, we were assigned to help Selikor fix one of Curaçao’s waste problems. We chose
to help Selikor with the ever-growing tyre waste and tyre fire problems in Curaçao. As it
stands, tyre waste in Curaçao is collected by waste collecting companies, such as Selikor,
but these companies don’t currently have the means to process the waste.
Waste collecting companies store the tyres in large piles, for later processing. Some
companies stack the tyres in big open areas in Curaçao. Tragically, due to Curaçao’s warm
and dry climate, these stacks of tyres
are prone to catch fire. This causes tyre
fires, rough occurrences that can
dramatically impact the environment.
The negative impact is a result of the
rubber in the tyres. When rubber burns
it releases toxic fumes, which pollute
the air. These toxic fumes are released
in black clouds of smoke. This type of
smoke includes pollutants such as
carbon monoxide, cyanide,
sulfurdioxide, butadiene and styrene.
These pollutants are bad for the health
of surrounding civilians and the
environment. The small particles make
the smoke easy to inhale. Direct exposure can lead to respiratory symptoms, chronic
illnesses or make your existing health condition worse.
The people with the highest health risks concerning the smoke are people with lung or heart
conditions, children, pregnant women and elderly people. Black smoke is also harmful to the
environment because it carries a hefty
amount of carbon monoxide. Carbon
monoxide is a significant factor in the
creation of greenhouse gasses,
especially the greenhouse gas ‘ozone’,
which leads to climate change and
global warming.
But it’s not only the smoke that is a
problem. Discarded tyres, particularly
those left in bushland or waterways,
often become breeding grounds for
mosquitoes, which can then cause
outbreaks of diseases.

8
4. Client
Our client is Selikor. Selikor is a waste processing organization located in Curaçao.
Their mission is to reduce the carbon footprint of Curaçao and ultimately free the island of
pollution. They achieve this, roughly said, with waste collection, processing and recycling.
Selikor also provides multiple other services such as septic tanks, waste compactors,
containers, portable toilets and sweeping machines. Our contact person in Selikor is John
Amarica. John Amarica is an employee for Selikor .

Figure 7: Selikor’s logo

4.1 Selikors mission

Selikor provides many services to achieve their mission, ranging from waste collecting and
recycling to educating people about waste. Starting with waste collecting services for
residents. For residents of the island, Selikor provides curbside- and bulky waste collecting
systems. Selikor provides every household with a free garbage container making it easy for
the household to get rid of their garbage, Selikor then comes by every week to pick-up and
empty the garbage containers on the curbside completely for free. For households that have
garbage that is too large for the garbage containers, such as washing machines, Selikor
comes by every month with grapple trucks to pick it up, also entirely for free (Selikor, 2021).

Selikor also has multiple waste collecting services for businesses. Not all businesses are
equal and produce equal amounts and types of waste. Every business has its own unique
set of waste disposal needs. Selikor provides specialized waste management and waste
disposal services to local businesses. They provide commercial, construction, industrial
waste collecting and trash compactors. The waste compactor is perfect for businesses that
have large amounts of waste. The compactor compresses waste and reduces its volume by
up to 75%. When the compactor is full, Selikor transports it to the landfill, disposes of the
waste, and brings the empty compactors back to the companies. Besides that Selikor also
provides consultunary services for businesses (Selikor, 2021).

9
Selikor also has drive-through lanes called Kaya di Medioambiente. It is ideal for businesses
that already have a good recycling policy that includes separating waste at the source. It
allows businesses to dispose of many types of recyclable waste, such as plastic bottles and
aluminum cans in an environmentally friendly way (Selikor, 2021).

Waste collection is not the only thing they do. All the waste they collect is recycled into new
items. The different waste types get
separated at the waste drop-off center
where they transport the recyclable
materials to their materials recovery
facility. At the materials recovery
facility, they recover recyclable
materials and process the materials in
possibly the most environmentally
friendly way. Usable items will be
packed and shipped to be sold on the
international market (Selikor, 2021).

Other services from Selikor include

septic tank and grease trap cleaning,
portable toilets and street/parking lot sweeping (Selikor, 2021).

10
5. Assignment
As discussed in chapter 4, our client for this project is Selikor. Selikor has given us the
chance to help them with Curaçao’s waste problems. For our assignment we got to think
about ways to process rubber tyres, wooden pallets or glass. These are the three main
troublesome waste streams in Curaçao. They are troublesome waste streams because
rubber, wood and glass are difficult to process. Selikor would like us to help them process
one of these waste streams in a climate neutral or climate friendly way. For one of the waste
streams, rubber tyres, the current way of processing is collecting them. However, large piles
of tyres can easily catch fire in the warm climate of Curaçao. This results in these kinds of
horrifying scenes.

Selikor is, as explained in the previous chapter, Curaçao’s largest waste processing
organization. For them this project is very relevant, as it is their mission to clean up the
island on which they are located. We can help them with this mission by tackling one of
Selikor’s most burdensome waste streams. This will greatly further Selikor’s humble cause of
restoring Curaçao’s beauty.

Ultimately, Selikor expects us to devise an alternate solution for one of the main waste
streams which is at least climate neutral. Our choice of solution is to be substantiated with a
trade-off-matrix based on comprehensive research. After choosing a solution to elaborate
on, the client expects a 3D-model based on research we did concerning our solution.

11
6. Situation
At present, the island of Curaçao, where Selikor is located, is largely polluted with rubbish.
The island is polluted by inhabitants, large companies and tourists. The organization that
concerns themselves with cleaning up the mess is Selikor. Selikor collects trash from
Curaçao’s houses and companies, processing it at their own facilities. Currently, Selikor
divides trash into four main categories. These categories are wooden pallets, glass, rubber
tyres and “other”. Mainly the tyres are threatening, Selikor does not have the means to
process this waste stream. As a result, mountains of tyres emerge all around Curaçao.
Fortunately, these large stacks
of tyres do not stay on the
island permanently.
Unfortunately, the way these
tyres magically disappear does
leave dangerous traces on the
island. In case of the tyre’s
disappearing act, they catch
fire as a result of Curaçao’s
warm climate. The burning
tyres are atrocious for climate
and environment alike. In 2021
Curaçao was the 2nd most
polluting country worldwide
when speaking of CO2 emitted per member of the population per year and 5th most polluting
country in CO2-emission per square kilometer per year (United Nations, 2021). At the
moment, processing wooden pallets, glass and wooden tyres is extremely challenging,
especially in an environmentally friendly way. Because of this extreme difficulty, many of the
items collected by Selikor are discarded in a landfill. The idea is to process the garbage later,
but to do this Selikor does need the means to do so. Our task was to research the means to
process specifically the waste stream rubber tyres.

12
7. Planning
First, we made a clear and straightforward planning. This schedule contained information on
who does which tasks during our project and when these tasks should be completed. The
Plan of Action was successfully finished on Friday the 8th of October. More information on
the scheduled deadlines and actual completion dates can be found in the following table.
The complete planning can be found in attachment A.

Deliverable Deadline Actual completion date

1. Planning 24-9-2021 24-9-2021

2. Preliminary Research 8-10-2021 8-10-2021

3. Plan of Requirements 8-10-2021 8-10-2021

4. Various Ideas 29-10-2021 1-12-2021*

5. Substantiated Choice 5-11-2021 1-12-2021*

6. Detailed Idea 10-12-2021 1-12-2021

7. 3D-model 24-12-2021 8-12-2021

8. Verification 24-12-2021 24-12-2021

9. Final Report 10-1-2022 9-1-2022

* This deliverable was completed earlier, but it was revised after we received feedback from
Selikor.

13
8. Preliminary research
Next, we did preliminary research. 8 questions were written out about the current waste
situation in Curaçao and other topics that are related to the problem. We conducted a
preliminary study into different types of waste processing. We described which methods of
waste processing are most common in Curaçao, what the consequences of those methods
are, concerning climate and environment alike, and what possible applications there are for
the end products. We went especially in depth into climate friendly waste processing as it
was the most relevant to later steps in our project.

8.1 Preliminary research: waste types

In this category we will discuss the different types of waste types which need processing.
Below are listed multiple questions about waste types, and the answers to said questions.

8.1.1 What are the dangers of tyre fires?

When burning tyres, many toxic fumes are released. A couple of these fumes, namely
carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are contributors to the greenhouse effect.
The tyre fires also cause the release of rubber particles which can be detrimental to the
health of people who breathe them in. Also, burning tyres can cause big wildfires due to
them containing flammable substances.

8.1.2 How is the current waste situation in Curaçao being changed?

According to the national report of Curaçao the current waste situation is being worked on by
small businesses recycling, reusing and collecting waste at homes and using drop-off points
(The Ministry of Health, Environment and Nature et al., 2014). Multiple awareness programs
have been started to combat the waste problems as well. Also, the government offers
businesses support with partnerships and collaborations to help those businesses manage
their waste in an environmentally friendly manner. One major achievement is that all the
island's large supermarkets joined a national campaign to encourage shoppers to bring their
own bags and stopped using plastic bags. The supermarkets now only provide paper bags.

8.1.3 How much waste does the average Curaçaoan produce?

According to a research done by Tui in 2016, the Curacaoan inhabitants produce
approximately 2,5 kilograms of waste per day per person (TUI Group, 2021).

14
8.1.4 Why is the amount of tyre/glass/wood waste in Curaçao so large?
Usually, tyres are shredded by specialists and processed to be reused. In Curaçao, tyres
usually don’t reach the specialist, because there are so few specialists. The tyres are instead
dumped in the streets or left in people’s garages just to be dumped later. This is why there is
such a large amount of tyre waste in Curaçao.

To recycle glass, it’s crushed and later melted into new products. In Curaçao, glass isn’t
recycled, it’s kept for later recycling. As a result, Curaçao has large amounts of non-recycled
glass.

When recycling wood, Curaçaons like to make custom furniture or other usable objects. This
is an amazing way of recycling and an excellent example of cradle to cradle. Sadly, this isn’t
an effective way to reduce the amount of wood-waste in Curaçao.

8.1.5 What are the most climate friendly ways to process waste?
There are four major ways to process waste in a climate friendly way; recycling; reusing;
composting; anaerobic digestion.

Anaerobic digestion is a natural process where biomass, from plants and animal materials, is
broken down by microorganisms in the absence of air. The biomass will then release a gas
full of methane which can be used as an renewable heat- and powersource. The remaining
materials are rich in nutrients and can be used as a fertilizer.

Recycling is the most well known way to process waste in a climate friendly way. To recycle
you have to separate the waste in different types and need different containers for every
type. After that, each waste type can be recycled into something new. Most waste types get
broken down into a base product from which new products can be made. For example, all
glass gets smelted into new glass from which all sorts of new glass products can be made.
Around 75% of all waste is recyclable.

Reusing has a lot in common with recycling because the process primarily focuses on
reusing waste. But instead of making new products from old products, recycling, reusing
uses the same products again. For example, saving shopping bags or using one cloth bag
multiple times.

Composting is a way to turn your food waste into a substance with high amounts of
nutrients, which can be used by plants in for example people’s gardens. Composting is not
expensive, really good for nature and can easily be done by everyone.
To compost you would want to fill one small container with materials that are high in nitrogen
and materials that are high in carbon. Keep the carbon-rich materials at the bottom so it
helps to aerate your compost. Keep adding those materials until you fill your container. It will
heat up and it will take a week or two to cool down. After that, mix it using a (pitch)fork-like
tool and shred as much as you can. After that it's done and ready to be returned into nature.

15
8.1.6 Are there cradle to cradle solutions for tyre, glass and wood waste?
Of course there are cradle to cradle ways to recycle all of these products. Examples of these
solutions include (but are not limited to): asphalt, art, window panes, glasswork, tables,
chairs and more.

8.1.7 Where does the tyres, glass and wooden pallet waste come from?
Tyres come from cars and other (motorized) vehicles, they can also be found in large
machines. Glass is usually thrown out in the form of used bottles for alcoholic beverages, but
can also be used to make vases, windows etcetera. Wooden pallets are primarily disposed
of by construction workers and the like.

8.1.8 Is there a connection between the tyre, glass and wooden pallet waste?
The connection between these types of waste doesn’t exceed the fact that it’s common
waste in Curaçao and that it’s hard to recycle.

16
8.2 Preliminary research: Waste processing
In this section, we will talk about the different ways of waste processes. Below are listed
multiple questions about waste processing, including the answers to said questions.

8.2.1 What types of waste processing are most common in Curaçao?

The type of waste processing that is most common in Curaçao is recycling, this is because
recycling is the easiest and most available type of waste processing in Curaçao. There are
multiple small and big organizations located in Curaçao that take initiative in collection and
recycling waste. Selikor is one of those organizations.

8.2.2 What are the consequences of the waste processing types in Curaçao?
Recycling generally doesn’t have negative consequences for the environment. But Curaçao
doesn’t do a lot of recycling, because most of the waste finds its way back into nature, in a
negative sense. So the waste processing in Curaçao might not have negative negative
consequences, but the fact it happens so infrequently does. The waste processing in
Curaçao also doesn’t have many negative consequences for the climate, because recycling
seldom contributes to the greenhouse effect. The lack of recycling in Curaçao however, does
heavily contribute to climate change. Burning tyres and other unrecycled products generally
cause the emission of many greenhouse gasses in one way or another, greenhouse gasses
of course being the main cause of climate change.

8.2.3 What possible applications do these consequences have for the final
product?
If our final product is easy to use at a large scale for waste processing companies the
current disadvantages of recycling will be neutralized. It will become easier to recycle for
Curaçaoans resulting in a less poluted island. This will make Curaçao more attractive for
tourists and inhabitants alike.

17
9. Plan of Requirements
In our plan of requirements we described all of our demands for the final product. These
demands have been written in consideration of the inhabitants of Curaçao and ultimately in
consideration of the inhabitants of the earth. Our final idea has to fit as many of our
requirements as possible.

Our requirements can be divided into 3 categories:

1. Environmental requirements: Our solution must be environmentally friendly or
environmentally neutral (not harmful to the environment).
2. Inhabitant requirements: These requirements protect the inhabitants of Curaçao from
any negative effects our solution could have. For example, our design shouldn’t be all
too loud.
3. Design requirements: Finally, these requirements concern the practical side of our
design. Is there a budget? Are the parts necessary for making our product available?
Etcetera.

9.1 Environmental requirements

The environmental requirements are listed in this subsection. A demand is classified as an
environmental requirement when it relates to the protection of the island’s living organisms,
excluding human inhabitants of the Curaçao.

9.1.1 Land waste distribution

If our product produces any waste, this waste can not be released onto the island. If this
waste is released onto the island our solution will not help solve the problem at all. We can
achieve this requirement by making our product not produce any waste or if it does we can
offer ways to recycle the produced waste.

9.1.2 Air pollution

Our product must produce less carbon dioxide than the current solution. If it’s possible, we
want to make our product CO2-neutral. If our product does produce more carbon dioxide
than the current solution it would not be better for the climate and environment than the
current solution.

9.1.3 Water usage

We would like to use as little water as possible in our solution. Because to desalinate water
you need high amounts of energy. Because of the high energy usage of desalinating water
it’s bad for the environment and climate. If possible our solution should not contribute to
worsening the climate and environment.

18
9.1.4 Waste recycling
Our solution has to recycle the waste that it receives. We do not only want to get rid of the
waste, we want to get rid of it in a clean way.

9.1.5 Wildlife
Our product should not negatively influence the surrounding wildlife. If our product negatively
influences the surrounding wildlife it destroys the ecosystem in that place which will
negatively influence the environment.

9.2 Inhabitant requirements

The inhabitant requirements are listed in this subsection. A demand is classified as an
inhabitant requirement when it relates to the wellbeing, comfort and safety of the inhabitants
of Curaçao.

9.2.1 Noise pollution

If our product makes any noises at all the amount of noise should remain under the 130
decibels, the volume of a live rock concert. This might seem loud, but Selikor is located a
relatively large distance from any neighbourhoods.

9.2.2 Garbage reduction

Our design has to decrease the amount of waste on the island as much as possible. That is
its main objective because waste is one of Curaçao’s biggest environment-related problems.

9.3 Design requirements

The design requirements are listed in this subsection. A demand is classified as a design
requirement when it relates to the technical design of the solution. When designing the
solution, we should consider these requirements. The requirements are related to size and
funds..

9.3.1 Size restriction

If our solution is a stationary object, it can’t be bigger than a 40ft container, because one of
the only ways to get to Curaçao is by boat, and if our solution is bigger, it won’t fit. If it can't fit
on a boat we can’t easily get our solution to Curaçao. Of course, an alternative might be to
construct our solution in Curaçao.

9.3.2 Budget
The budget of the solution is to be taken into consideration when discussing our solution with
the client. However, there isn’t a concrete number to use as a budget.

19
10. Various Ideas
In this deliverable we will brainstorm various ideas concerning the problem’s solution. We will
analyze said ideas and make a trade-off matrix. Using this matrix we can assess those
ideas. This will help with the decision-making process we’ll undergo when deciding which
solution is best. All three ideas will be described in detail in their own documents.

10.0.1 Brainstorming Technique

For this deliverable we used the brainstorming technique brainwriting. When using this
brainstorming technique the whole team writes down all of their solutions and chooses the
best of the bunch. We wrote down multiple ideas for each of the three subjects; wood, glass
and tyres on different pieces of paper. After that we wrote a short explanation for each idea
before we put them in the trade-off matrix.

10.1 Wood
In this subsection, all of the ideas for reducing the amount of wooden pallets are listed.
Using these ideas, Selikor should be able to process stored wood into usable materials.

10.1.1 MDF planks (Medium-Density Fibreboard)

To easily reduce the amount of pallets, we can shred them and press them into MDF planks.
Other ingredients are needed here, such as urea-formaldehyde resin glue and water. Waste
products generated by the process of making MDF from wood are nails and MDF remains,
but these can be used again to make more MDF. This idea also needs power, which may not
be sustainably generated. The water used can be used again since this is a closed-loop
system.

10.1.2 Wooden planks

If we disassemble the pallets we can get some wood planks back out of them. This means
that we can reuse or resell the planks. Waste products generated by this idea are mainly
nails and unusable planks.

10.1.3 Biomass generator

Because pallets are made of wood, you can use them in a biomass generator. By processing
wood with a biomass generator, biomass is formed, this biomass can be used to generate
energy. Land waste produced by this idea is mainly ash, a waste product that can find new
life as fertilizer.

10.1.4 Charcoal
We can make charcoal from wood by burning it in an oxygen deprived environment. This
charcoal can be resold to, for example, Curaçaoan residents but it can also be used to smelt
the glass, or other products, to recycle them. Before the wood can be burned, the nails will
have to be removed.

20
10.2 Glass
The ideas considered for processing glass are listed in the following subsection. Using these
ideas, Selikor should be able reduce the amount of glass waste by a significant amount.

10.2.1 Art
To get rid of small amounts of glass, you can make art from them. This will attract more
tourists to Curaçao and also boost the local art and tourist industry. Examples of glass art
can be found in cities all over the world.

10.2.2 Smelter
Another option would be to sort leftover glass by colour, and then smelt each individual
colour so the glass can be reused. You can use this new glass for a lot of things. For
example, the glass could be used for the production of new bottles and window panes.

10.2.3 Bottle Refilling Station

Glass bottles can be cleaned and refilled at so-called ‘bottle refilling stations’. At these
locations empty bottles can be refilled, and afterward resold. Reusing bottles decreases the
amount of glass waste drastically, and the bottle refilling station could pay for itself due to the
resale values of the beverages.

21
10.3 Tyres
The ideas that can be used to process the collected tyres into usable materials are listed
below. These ideas can be used to process all unused tyres in Curaçao and in doing so can
prevent tyre fires.

10.3.1 Artificial Reef

To reduce the amount of tyres in Curaçao by a significant amount, we could distribute them
in the ocean. By doing this, an artificial reef is created. The artificial reef will serve as a
habitat for many types of fish. The reef will support wildlife in the seas of Curaçao, and will
also support the tourism-industry. This also would not be hard to do either, it has already
been done in Florida once before. However, a major disadvantage of this idea is the amount
of microplastics that will be deposited into the environment.

10.3.2 Permeable Pavement

Using the rubber crumbs fabricated with cryogenic recycling (10.3.4), it is possible to
fabricate permeable pavement. This pavement is pervious to liquids (such as rain), but
allows vehicles to drive over it.

10.3.3 Rubberized Asphalt

You can also use rubber to make rubberized asphalt. If you make a road from this type of
asphalt it will reduce the amount of noise the cars make.

10.3.4 Cryogenic Recycling

To easily recycle the tyres you can freeze the tyres and crush them into small pieces. When
crushed you can reform the tyres into new tyres. When using this idea, Curaçao can become
an exporter of tyre-derived products, as well as use the items made with this idea in
Curaçao.

10.3.5 Non-Cryogenic Rubber Granulating

This recycling process is similar to 4.3.4 (Cryogenic Recycling), but without the cryogenic
part. Due to the lack of cryogenics, this process is less space consuming than its
predecessor. However, just like its predecessor this form of recycling utilizes shredders to
granulate tyres.

22
10.4 Trade-off Matrix
To evaluate the ideas described above we made a trade-off matrix. The matrix can be found
below. It is also available in a larger format in appendix B.

10.5 Top 3
After making the trade-off matrix we made a list ranking the best ideas per category (wood,
glass and tyres). The ideas on top of these lists were the winners per category. For wood the
idea that won was wooden planks, for glass the best idea was the bottle refilling station and
for tyres the idea at the top of the list was non-cryogenic rubber granulating. The description
of these ideas and the explanation which of the three ideas we chose to expand on will be
talked about on the next page in chapter 11 (Substantiated Choice).

23
11. Substantiated Choice
The selection process using a trade-off matrix has shown that the best 3 ideas are rubber
granulating, bottle refilling and wooden planks. Rubber granulating, our preferred solution,
had the highest score in our trade-off-matrix and in our opinion was the best overall choice
as well. In this document, we will go into more detail on our top 3, summarizing our thoughts
on each of the ideas and giving our reasoning for our final choice.

Wooden Planks
In our opinion, this idea was the simplest of the bunch. In
theory, it is an amazingly simple and efficient way to
recycle wooden pallets. Sadly, this solution is difficult to
use in large scale operations, so the amount of wood we
can recycle using it is rather minimal. As a result, the
amount of wooden pallet waste will hardly decrease.
Also, the planks are usually not of high quality, which
renders the planks essentially useless for large scale use.
That is why ultimately, we would not choose this option.

Bottle Refilling Station

Conceptually, refilling glass bottles for reuse is a
great idea. But in practice, refilling bottles might be
impractical. Travelling to bottle refilling stations might
not be practical for all Curaçaoans and only a certain
amount of bottles can be kept for refilling. In the end,
the greater problem with this idea remains to be that
the solution does not entirely eliminate the problem.
Finally the solution also uses a lot of clean water,
something Curaçao does not have a lot of to begin
with. In the end, bottle refilling stations are a nice
idea, but not practical in the slightest.

24
Rubber Granulating
This idea is the best solution for
Curaçao’s tyre problems, in our revised
opinion. It is an efficient way to reduce
the amount of tyres, by shredding the
tyres back to rubber granules. With those
rubber granules we can make a
multitude of useful things, one of which is
rubber asphalt which has a longer
lifespan than normal asphalt and is less
loud, resulting in a reduction in noise
pollution in busy areas. The asphalt also
has exceptional durability and can be
especially pleasant to civilians who live
in busy neighbourhoods due to its
minimal noise excretion. At first we
thought that cryogenic recycling was the
best idea, but after discussing our ideas with Selikor, it became apparent that this was not
feasible in the hot climate of Curaçao. In conclusion, we think this solution is the best for
multiple reasons.

25
12. Detailed Idea
After making a substantiated choice, we expanded on the chosen idea by delving deeper
into certain details. An example of these deliberations is a detailed cost estimate. Basically,
in this deliverable we will explain our idea in detail. This phase of the project is
chronologically placed right before the construction of the 3D model. In this stage we also
start to figure out the scale and proportions of our model.

12.1 Principle of Operation

Step 1: Tyres to chunks
The first step of the recycling process is shredding the tyres into chunks. This will make it
possible to remove all of the steel from the tyres in the next step. Pieces of tyre with the steel
still in them are not as easily recyclable as pieces without the steel in them, that is why we
also recommend step 2.

Step 2: Removing the steel and making the pieces smaller

After step 1, the steel gets removed from the tyres and the tyres get chopped into even
smaller pieces. After this step you can use the pieces of rubber to, for example, make
playground material from them.

Step 3 (optional): Removing the fiber and granulating te pieces

To be able to granulate the tyres you need to remove the fibers first. When this is done you
can easily granulate the pieces of tyre. We believe this step is unnecessary, because you
can not use the pieces of rubber for a lot more than after step two.

Step 4 (optional): rubber granulates to fine ground rubber

After granulating the rubber you can grind it to be able to make rubberized asphalt from
them. But we don’t believe this is necessary either, for the same reason as step three. Step
three and four are optional steps, they are to be taken only when the desired final product
utilises fine ground rubber.

26
12.2 Components
For the process of granulating the tyres we followed the method “CM Shredders” uses. This
is a company that produces rubber recycling systems. It is possible to purchase these
systems from CM Shredders, but there are other options available as well, such as Eldan
Recycling.

Step 1: Tyres to chunks

To convert the big tyres into smaller chunks the TDF & Crumb Rubber Feedstock System
can be used.

Step 2: Removing the steel and making the pieces smaller

After the first step the steel from the tyres has to be removed to be able to recycle them any
further, the pieces also have to be made smaller. To achieve this the Steel Liberation &
Reclamation System could be used.

Step 3 (optional): Removing the fiber and granulating te pieces

When the steel is removed from the tyres they can be shredded into small enough pieces
that you can easily recycle them. To do this the granulation and fiber removal system can be
used.

Step 4 (optional): rubber granulates to fine ground rubber

If you also grind the rubber granules you can make rubberized asphalt from them, but we
don’t think this is necessary. For this step the use of a Milling and Screening System, is
recommended.

27
13. 3D-model
To further expand on our idea, we made a
3D-model to explain it. This 3D-model was
made using online CAD software. The
3D-model can be seen below. The
explanations of all the elements of the 3D
model are listed below. In figure 16, a
top-down view of the model can be seen.
More information on the specific parts of
the machine can be found on the next
page.

28
13.1 Tyre shredder
The first step of recycling tyres is shredding
them into tyre chips, to do this we use a tyre
shredder. The shredder shreds the tyres into
1-2 inch chips. This shredding process
happens in three steps:
1. First, the whole tyre is released into
the shredder, the tyre gets roughly
chopped into pieces of different sizes.
2. Under the shredder there is a disc
screener, the disc screener sorts the
shredded pieces in size, the good
sized pieces fall through and the
pieces that are too big get pushed into
the big rotating barrel.
3. The rotating barrel brings the too big
pieces back to the top of the shredder and throws them back in. The pieces are
shredded repeatedly until they reach a suitable size.

13.2 Steel liberator

The second step of recycling tyres is removing
the steel from the chunks of tyre, to do this we
use a steel liberator. The steel liberator
removes the steel in two steps:
1. The cutter inside of the liberator rips the
chunks of tyre appart to loosen the
steel. The loosened chunks fall onto a
conveyor-belt and get moved to the
next step.
2. The loosened steel gets lifted out of the
mix of rubber and steel with a magnetic
belt. After it gets lifted out it proceeds to
be moved to the next part of the
recycling process.
The small strands of steel can still contain a bit
of rubber that is lifted up with the steel, to
remove the pieces of rubber we shake the steel-rubber mix on top of a steel grating. The
pieces of rubber fall through but the pieces of steel stay on top. The pieces of rubber get
distributed back into the steel liberator, the pieces of cleaned steel get demagnetized and
move on to the collection step.

29
13.3 Output
In the end the pieces of rubber and steel are collected in large containers, clean rubber is
collected that can, for example, be used as playground material, and 90% clean steel is
collected which can be sold to increase revenue.

30
14. Validation
Using the specifications outlined in the Plan of Requirements, we tested the proposed
solution. We produced a report of the results of this testing process. Because the solution
satisfied our requirements, we did not have to implement a fix, and the verification process
was valid.

14.1 Environmental requirements

This category contains five requirements. The proposed solution satisfies all of these
requirements. It produces close to no land waste at all. The only pollution that might be
created are small rubber particles, but these will settle close to the machine. The solution
also produces very little air pollution. The machine does use grid power. While this is
currently primarily produced with fossil fuels, the island’s energy operator (Aqualectra) does
operate wind turbines to produce this power in a sustainable manner (Energy Transition
Initiative, 2015). This solution uses a very small amount of water. This machine uses water in
a closed-loop system. This means the sprayer water is continually recycled and (in theory)
never needs replenishment.

14.2 Inhabitant requirements

The proposed solution also satisfies all inhabitant requirements. The machine produces
some sound, but this is within allowable levels (CM Shredders). Since the proposed solution
is excellent in processing waste, it also satisfied the second inhabitant requirement.

14.3 Design requirements

There are 2 design requirements in the Plan of Requirements. The proposed solution
satisfies both. It can fit within a 40 ft shipping container for transportation. While there is not
an exact price available, we estimate the proposed solution fits in the “middling” category in
the Trade Off Matrix, costing less than other, larger solutions.

31
15. Conclusion
After finishing all of the deliverables we have come to a conclusion. Our final
recommendation for the solution of the problem is using a rubber granulating system to
reduce the amount of tyre waste in Curaçao. Rubber granulation is in our opinion the best
solution for multiple reasons:
- It is an efficient way to reduce the amount of tyres on Curaçao, shredding the tyres
back to rubber granules.
- With those rubber granules we can make multiple useful things, one of which is
rubberised asphalt which has a longer lifespan than normal asphalt and is less loud,
resulting in a reduction in noise pollution in areas with regular traffic. The asphalt also
has exceptional durability and can be especially pleasant to civilians who live in busy
neighbourhoods due to its minimal noise excretion. Using the product from the rubber
granulation system to make rubber asphalt would also be recommended.
- Another option is to make playground material from the rubber granulates. But the
simplest thing to do with the rubber granulates is sell them for some profit.

To be able to granulate the tyres we use a rubber granulator and liberator, these machines
chop the tyres into small pieces and remove the steel from them. More information on the
granulator can be found in chapter 11, 12 & 13.

32
17. Sources
CM Shredders. (2021a, April 29). TDF & TDA Production | Crumb Rubber Feedstock
System. CM. Retrieved December 13, 2021, from https://CM
Shredders.com/portfolio/tdf-feedstock-systems/

CM Shredders. (2021b, March 14). CM Steel Liberation and Reclamation | CM Liberator.

CM. Retrieved December 13, 2021, from https://CM
Shredders.com/portfolio/cm-steel-liberation-reclamation/

CM Shredders. (2021c, March 14). CM Granulation and Fiber Removal | Tire Rubber
Granulation. CM. Retrieved December 13, 2021, from https://CM
Shredders.com/portfolio/granulation-and-fiber-removal/

CM Shredders. (2021d, April 27). CM Milling and Screening | Crumb Rubber Production.
CM. Retrieved December 13, 2021, from
https://CMshredders.com/portfolio/milling-and-screening/

CM Shredders. (2021e, December 24). CM SOLO 100 Shredders Machine | CM Shredders.

CM. Retrieved January 5, 2022, from https://cmshredders.com/portfolio/cm-solo-100/

Curaçao – a recycling project in the Caribbean – TUI policyBLOG. (2021e, November 17).
Tui Group. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from
https://www.politiklounge.com/en/policy-blog/2016/december/recycling-project

Energy Transition Initiative. (2015, June). Energy Snapshot Curaçao.

https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy15osti/64120.pdf

Kozlowski, R. K. (n.d.). Green Fibres and Their Potential in Diversified Applications.

Https://Www.Fao.Org/. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from
https://www.fao.org/3/y1873e/y1873e0b.htm#fnB43

MAIN. (n.d.). Selikor. Retrieved December 13, 2021, from https://selikor.com/

The Ministry of Health, Environment and Nature, Office of Foreign Relations & other
contributors. (2014, June). National Report of Curaçao.
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/1385Curacao.pdf

33
18. Attachments

18.1 Attachment A: planning

34
35
18.2 Attachment B: Trade-off matrix

36