“The more insects you have the better it is, because all their material flows go back into cycles.We distinguish between two types of products. Normally people always talk about the consumer. But we are not consuming a TV set. We’re not consuming a washing machine. We only use these things as service products. So everything that is designed to degrade, like shoe soles, like brake pads, like food, like detergents, is designed to be beneficial for biological systems. And everything that is just designed as a service, like a computer, like a washing machine, is a technical nutrient. When we do this, we are as intelligent as ants.”

Michael Braungart, professor of Process Engineering and ecovisionair