The business venture from the Bío Bío Region makes projects based on designs made 100% of recycled materials and 100% recyclable. The product line ranges from urban infrastructure, industrial solutions, furniture, road signs and civil works. They currently use all non-dangerous industrial residues, from sawdust, all types of plastic, fishing nets, packaging, among others.
DAS8 is born when, Betsy Concha, founder and project director, moved to live in Concepción, a time when she decided to establish a project of circular economy that summed her 15 years of experience, “plus all the collaboration of the city’s best talents from the scientific area, ranging from public, private sectors and up to base recyclers. All this with the purpose of focusing efforts on building a project with a high degree of innovation,” assured the venture’s CEO.
“We decided to focus DAS8 on the industrial area because we thought it was an excellent starting point to process high volumes of industrial residues, in order for them not to end up in landfills but to become a product with high beautiful, sustainable and architectural values. The environment is in a critical level and we must bring quick responses connected to the market.”
What were the goals planned at the beggining and how your working strategy has changed in line with the climate crisis we’re experiencing today?
Our first goal was to process high volumes of non-dangerous industrial residues, meeting health and environmental standards and regulations.
Our second goals was that circular economy ceased to be a concept and became an idea applied on making consumption decisions for the industry. On a second stage, DAS8 decided to cover all processes or stages that make circular economy. That is, transport, supply, process of transformation into raw materials, and project production. Taking all stages made us a more competitive offer in cost optimisation, reaching 30% of value in projects of waste management and sustainability.
Why do you think circular economy is one of the solutions to face climate change?
Because it represents the model change. We are forced to be born again in environmental issues, influencing our consumption habits. We know it’s a big challenge and the answer relies on educating children and adults crosswise. Circular economy proposes us a way of working and connecting in a collaborative way to achieve goals each time more demanding. We are the first generation who experiences the effects of climate change and we have the responsibility to revert them.
How is the structure of your project: types and number of professionals, products you make, alliances, environmental education, relation or links to the environment and innovation?
We are a company with young professionals and big challenges for the environment. As founder and project director, I believe in design as soul and added value for this company. Our working areas are related to circular economy, engineering, education and design.
In our team we have seven professionals in Concepción and four in Santiago. They belong to the most diverse disciplines, such as industrial and graphic design, engineering in material and natural resources, civil engineering, architecture, business administration, among others.
We do circular economy projects with a sustainable design response, applied in urban infrastructure, industrial solutions, furniture, road signs and civil works. Our links to other institutions or companies are increasing, but we can highlight support from CORFO, UDD Ventures and CIPA. In terms of global innovation, we work with Puerto IE, a platform that links our project to the world.
Circular Economy
What level are we as a country in terms of recycling and circular economy?
Chile has made signs of commitment to the environment, such as the REP and No More Plastic laws. It’s not enough though. We are in debt with environmental education, with this being the critical point for succeeding in any goal from this area. Industries must involve in it and take care of the impact they make. Also, household waste separated from the origin is a big challenge for the public sector.
Does plastic have something positive and how can we use it to benefit the environment?
Plastic is an excellent material if it’s well used. It can be recycled multiple times and is easily adaptable. We use type-2 plastic (HDPE) as the major fiber board for our products, bringing a diversity of colours and finishes.
We must elliminate single-use plastics and especially small format ones, which are almost impossible to recover for their transformation. We should think better what products we make of plastic so they never become part of pollution in our oceans.