1. Can you briefly introduce your team? What’s your story and what drives you?
The New Raw is a Rotterdam-based design and manufacturing studio specializing in robotic 3D printing with recycled plastics. We combine design, technology, and sustainability to transform plastic waste into durable, high-quality products. Our work aims to close material loops while showcasing the aesthetic and structural potential of recycled materials.
Better Future Factory, with its initiative Upstream Trophies, brings over 12 years of experience in circular product design and recycled plastic manufacturing. Together, we cover the full chain, from waste transformation to market-ready circular products. What drives us is the belief that design and innovation can give materials a second life and reshape how industries view waste.
2. In simple words, what is your project about and how is it linked with CIRCULOOS?
Our project Shine Again! turns a challenging industrial waste stream, metallised polypropylene caps from Vacumetal, into beautiful, functional objects. Instead of being incinerated, the material will be reused across multiple lifecycles: first transformed into 3D-printed retail furniture by The New Raw, then reprocessed by Upstream Trophies into circular trophies and medals.
Through this closed-loop system, we demonstrate how small and medium-sized enterprises can collaborate to create local, traceable, and circular manufacturing ecosystems. The project directly supports CIRCULOOS goals by using its digital tools (GRETA, SCOPT, Material Wizard) to track CO₂ savings, optimise material flows, and prove the viability of decentralised circular value chains.
3. How did you come up with this project idea/concept and what innovative benefits will it bring to the end users?
The idea started from our shared observation that metallized plastic caps, despite being mostly recyclable polypropylene, are sent to incineration because their shiny coating makes them invisible to sorting systems. We saw potential in their reflective, gold–silver–bronze finish perfect for symbolic products and design applications.
The innovation lies in combining robotic 3D printing and moulding techniques in a dual-cycle system, where production offcuts are reused instead of discarded. End users – such as architects, retailers, and event organisers – benefit from products that are locally made, fully recyclable, and visually striking, with at least 50% lower carbon emissions than their conventional counterparts.
4. What type of synergies do you want to explore/are already exploring with other circular economy partners?
We’re already working closely with Vacumetal, the waste supplier, to create a take-back system that could eventually include their network of cosmetic brands. Within the CIRCULOOS framework, we aim to collaborate with:
- Logistics partners – to scale post-consumer material recovery,
- Material labs and universities – to enhance recyclability and life-cycle assessment accuracy,
- Corporate gift agencies and retailers – to expand market adoption for circular products.
These synergies will help us replicate our model across different materials and industries.
5. What are your plans for the future when it comes to the development of your ideas & projects?
After this project, Upstream Trophies plans to spin off as an independent company focused entirely on sustainable awards, while The New Raw will integrate this new material stream into its product lines for furniture and architecture.
Together, we will continue developing modular circular production models, supported by data from the CIRCULOOS tools, and explore new collaborations for large-scale material recovery. Our long-term goal is to show that small, design-driven manufacturers can play a key role in Europe’s transition to a circular economy.