Return your aluminium poles for eternal life
Hydro is supporting the municipal sustainability goals in Dutch cities by taking their old aluminium light poles and turning them into new ones.
The Take Back return program closes the loop with regard to past-their-prime aluminium light poles and their subsequent replacement. Old light poles are collected and stripped, then all parts are returned and brought back into the technical cycle.
It all began in Katwijk, north of The Hague
The idea was hatched with the Dutch municipality of Katwijk, a seaside town located just north of The Hague. “In the past, when we disposed old light poles, the old materials were left to the contractor and there was no view on where the materials ended up,” says Simon Bachofner, who works for the municipality.
Now, when light poles are being replaced, a municipality may choose Hydro’s Take Back program. Dutch cities like Bussum, Heusden, Katwijk, Noordwijk, Noord Oost Polder and Tilburg have signed on.
New from old
Hydro takes back the old light poles, including fittings and cabling, and dismantle the poles locally.
Hydro then remelts the poles, extrudes the billets into tubes, and produces new light poles. The residues that Hydro cannot process are brought back into the chain by a waste specialist.
By coordinating the entire logistical process, Hydro releases the burden from municipalities.
We design our products so that they can be reused entirely at the end of their lifespan,” says Leopold Moormann of Hydro - Pole Products.
"Developing solutions according to the Cradle to Cradle® design facilitates the disassembly of our light poles and helps our customers adjust to a circular economy."