Utrecht, 2 February 2026 – This week, more than 650 students from 12 different educational institutions across the Netherlands are tackling a shared challenge: how can events become fully zero-waste? The challenge is presented by waste and recycling company PreZero Nederland.
Festivals, sporting events, and conferences still generate enormous amounts of waste. From single-use plastics and food packaging to leftover materials that often end up in the trash. In short, the events industry faces a major challenge.
PreZero Nederland challenges students to think beyond the waste bin:
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What does a truly zero-waste event look like?
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Which behavioural changes, systems, or incentives can reduce waste before, during, or after an event?
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How do we engage visitors, organisers, and suppliers?
During the Hackathon week, students work on these questions through workshops, inspiration sessions, and in-depth sessions focused on themes such as the circular economy, design thinking, and behavioural change. The goal is to develop new, innovative concepts that help the events sector transition to fully zero-waste operations.
Grand Finale
On Friday, 6 February, the best concepts will be pitched during the Grand Finale at Jaarbeurs Utrecht. Two juries, an expert jury and a research jury, will assess the ideas based on innovation, feasibility, and research value. The top concepts will be crowned winners. In addition to a prize, the ideas will be further developed after the Hackathon: the concept selected by the expert jury will be elaborated by PreZero Netherlands, while the winning research concept will be advanced by the Lecturers’ Platform for the Circular Economy.
About the National Circular Economy Hackathon
During the annual National Circular Economy Hackathon, students work in teams on real-world challenges related to the circular economy. Throughout the Hackathon week, they develop their ideas with support from workshops, inspiration sessions, and guidance from lecturers. The aim of the Hackathon is to raise awareness among young people and to show them the role they can play in the transition to a circular economy.
The Hackathon is organised by Het Groene Brein in collaboration with Zuyd Hogeschool and the 11 other participating educational institutions, and is supported by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and het Lectorenplatform Circulaire Economie.
The Hackathon is part of the national movement Leadership for the Circular Transition, in which lecturers and students work together towards a sustainable, circular world.
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