Jan Jacob Mekes

In 2030 een volledig circulaire kas. Een stevige ambitie, maar daar houden ze wel van bij Ter Laak Orchids. “We leggen de lat graag hoog als het om duurzaamheid gaat”, zegt André van ’t Hoog, Coördinator Teeltonderzoek en Kwaliteit bij de internationaal actieve Phalaenopsisteler. “Daarbij willen we niet afwachten, maar voorsorteren op wat komen gaat.”

Bij Stolk Flora stroomt duurzaamheid door de aderen. Het bedrijf teelt op twee locaties – in Bleiswijk en Bergschenhoek – sinds het jaar 2000 Phalaenopsis in 12 cm potten. “We lopen daarbij voorop in duurzaamheid”, vertelt Managing Director Koen van Koppen. “We zijn daar in 2016 mee naar buiten getreden onder de naam Your Natural Orchid, maar al ver daarvoor werkten we met natuurlijke vijanden en biologische middelen.”

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and chlorine are potent oxidizing agents used extensively across a myriad of industrial applications, including water treatment, disinfection processes, and bleaching in pulp and paper industries. Traditionally, these oxidizers are manufactured off-site and delivered to the user’s location. This traditional supply chain poses several challenges, including high transportation costs, storage difficulties, and potential safety risks. Recent advancements in technology, however, have made it feasible to produce these oxidizing agents on-site, leading to fewer chemical inputs and increased safety. Of these two options, on-site hydrogen peroxide generation, particularly by companies using no chemical inputs like HPNow, has shown promise in offering numerous advantages over on-site chlorine generation.

Jarðarberjaland is Icelandic for Strawberry Land – a fitting name for the greenhouse company where Steinar Jensen and his wife Hólmfríður Geirsdóttir grow strawberries for the local market. Sitting on a source with near-boiling water, energy and heat use are naturally sustainable – but sustainability is also very much a conscious choice for the husband-and-wife team.

Kwekerij De Noordpoel is geworteld in duurzaamheid. Arnoud van der Knaap had als scholier/student al een bedrijfje dat handelde in gebruikte potten (recycling). Na zijn studie begon hij daarnaast, samen met zijn broertje, een kwekerijtje in vaste planten. Inmiddels is dit uitgegroeid tot een bedrijf met zes hectare kas en buitenveld. Samen met zijn vrouw Marloes runt Arnoud het bedrijf, waar in het piekseizoen zo’n veertig werknemers actief zijn.

Peroxide UltraPure™, generated exclusively by the GOgen generator, has been certified as an EU-valid input for organic farming by CAAE. Organic growers in the European Union now have a new tool at their disposal to protect their crops.

John van Ruijven was een van de eerste kwekers in Nederland die een MPS-certificaat kregen. Nog steeds probeert hij met Qualily zo duurzaam mogelijk lelies te telen: door energie te besparen, maar ook door biologische gewasbescherming te gebruiken. “Certificeringen zijn een license to produce – ik hoop ook dat meer toeleveranciers zich laten certificeren”.

Energie is een heet hangijzer in de orchideeënteelt. Verduurzaming is broodnodig, maar zorgt ook voor uitdagingen. Mart en Jacqueline van Wingerden, van kwekerij Bonito Plant, weten hoe ingewikkeld het kan zijn om die puzzel te leggen, maar gelukkig staan ze er niet alleen voor. “We vinden het belangrijk om up-to-date te zijn als bedrijf. Met de certificaten en de jaarlijkse audits van MPS weten we precies hoe we ervoor staan.”

Rob van Geneijgen has been familiar with crate washing machines from an early age because his father has also been selling and servicing them In New Zealand for decades. Family ties are a common thread in the history of both Limex and MatMan Washing Solutions: Limex was founded by the father of current director Joep Janssen, and Rob’s father is a first cousin of Joep’s mother. Rob saw the expansion opportunities for the Limex washing machines in Australia.

HPNow, the Danish pioneer in sustainable water treatment solutions, is proud to unveil its latest innovation, the GOgen – a game-changing on-site Green Oxidant generator poised to revolutionize the landscape of industrial water treatment. The GOgen sets a new benchmark by producing ultra-high purity hydrogen peroxide directly on-site, and without chemical inputs, at up to 1% concentration. This unlocks a world of sustainable water treatment possibilities for multiple applications, including cooling and process water treatment, advanced oxidation, and odor control.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and chlorine are potent oxidizing agents used extensively across a myriad of industrial applications, including water treatment, disinfection processes, and bleaching in pulp and paper industries. Traditionally, these oxidizers are manufactured off-site and delivered to the user’s location. This traditional supply chain poses several challenges, including high transportation costs, storage difficulties, and potential safety risks. Recent advancements in technology, however, have made it feasible to produce these oxidizing agents on-site, leading to reduced costs and increased safety. Of these two options, on-site hydrogen peroxide generation, particularly by companies using no chemical inputs like HPNow, has shown promise in offering numerous advantages over on-site chlorine generation.

Wanneer twee bedrijven elkaar vinden en elk een ontbrekend puzzelstukje kunnen leveren, ontstaat een bijzondere situatie. Wanneer beide partijen elkaar begrijpen en gezamenlijk de puzzel kunnen oplossen, resulteert dit in een synergie-effect waarbij het geheel meer is dan de som der delen. Dit is precies het geval bij de samenwerking tussen Limex en VHM Machinery.

Sanitation is the unsung hero in the winemaking process, having significant implications for product quality and public health. However, traditional sanitation methods in the wine industry have not always been environmentally friendly or efficient. As the wine industry evolves to adopt more sustainable practices, there is an increasing need for green surface sanitation methods. Among the various alternatives that have emerged, one is particularly promising: the use of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), especially when it is produced on-site from electricity and water.

Plant diseases caused by pathogens like Phytophthora, Fusarium, and Pythium pose significant challenges for growers, leading to crop losses and reduced productivity. However, an innovative solution involving the on-site generation of hydrogen peroxide has emerged as a powerful tool for mitigating these threats. Leveraging this technology, growers around the world have reported lower plant mortality rates, promoting healthier crops. So, how can Peroxide UltraPure™ revolutionize plant disease management?

Het Belgische onderzoeksinstituut Proefstation voor de Groenteteelt (PSKW) heeft een proef uitgevoerd op twee slarassen, Fairly (Enza) en Alyssa (Rijk Zwaan), geteeld op water. Ze vergeleken drie opgeloste zuurstofconcentraties (DO) van 6,13 en 16 ppm. De verhoogde zuurstofconcentraties van 13 en 15 ppm werden verkregen door het water te verrijken met pure zuurstof (99,9% O2) nanobubbles met behulp van een Moleaer nanobubble-generator.

Investing in women is a great way to improve the overall level of prosperity in a community. When women work, they generate income not just for themselves but also contribute to greater financial stability in their community. In India, the contribution women make often stays unrecognized as they do not participate formally in the workforce – instead, they stay at home to do unpaid work: looking after the household, ensuring the children get educated and that everyone at home – the young, the elderly and in rural settings even the domestic animals are healthy and happy. Meanwhile, agriculture, a sector that has been on the decline in India for years now, represents another area in which women's contributions could make a significant difference if given the opportunity and support.

Een distributeur van Moleaer’s nanobubble-technologie in Spanje heeft samen met Agrocolor SL de effecten van met nanobubbles verrijkt irrigatiewater onderzocht op kastomaten geteeld in de grond. Agrocolor SL voert audits en certificeringen uit, en heeft een eigen afdeling voor onderzoek, ontwikkeling en proeven.

Professional Horticultural Consulting is a strawberry nursery and production facility in South Africa, with an acreage of 70 hectares. They supply their strawberry plants to growers across the country, and they’re also the largest exporter of fresh strawberry fruit in the southern hemisphere. The issue they faced is that the water in the area is endemic with Phytophthora infections. “It’s very important that we have a clean water supply going to the nurseries, so that we don’t get Phytophthora infections in the nursery and lose plant material, or supply substandard plants to the growers,” says Gavin Linsley Noakes, the company’s CEO and co-owner. Previously the facility was using industrial peroxide, which struggled to control plant infection. Industrial peroxide has a limited purity due to the production process at large chemical plants, and contains stabilizers which limit the reactivity of the pure hydrogen peroxide – thereby having a weaker effect on pathogens.

Cajamar, een bekend onderzoeks- en innovatie instituut in de Spaanse land- en tuinbouw, heeft samen met een Spaanse teler de effecten bestudeerd van met nanobubbles verrijkt irrigatiewater op kaskomkommers. En dan specifiek wanneer er geteeld wordt in zandgrond onder semi-gecontroleerde temperatuur en luchtvochtigheid.

Water pollutants such as pharmaceuticals and pesticides are very hard to remove from the water, and an increasing number of water treatment operations are looking at eliminating those. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are an essential part of the treatment chain. AOPs are used to remove harmful trace substances that find their way into the water cycle – for example, through the use of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, surfactants, pesticides, flame retardants, and others – and that would accumulate to critical concentrations in drinking water if not removed. In addition to eliminating micropollutants, established AOPs act as an effective disinfection barrier against viruses, bacteria, and protozoa.