Batman and the silent heroes of Theme Island ZERO
The ZERO theme island in Hall 27 is all about zero waste: repair cafés, 3D-printed glasses and exhibition floors made from recycled old tyres show how sustainability can be put into practice.
Muharrem Batman sits at a narrow table surrounded by old waffle irons, radios and typewriters. In between them flicker screens in metal frames, a scrap metal installation he built together with a metal artist. German pop songs play from a tape recorder.
Rescuer of broken appliances
The Neukölln resident describes himself as a pioneer of the reuse movement, and he has indeed been repairing electrical appliances for more than 20 years. He currently runs a repair café at Karstadt on Hermannplatz. He either makes his customers' devices functional again or helps them do it themselves. He would like to see tinkering and repairing together become more of a part of everyday life again – not only for the sake of the environment, but also for social cohesion. Incidentally, Batman is his real surname. He draws a parallel with the comic book hero with a wink: ‘He saves people, I save devices.’
The glasses from exhibitor Headrix come from a 3D printer. This type of manufacturing has many advantages: the glasses can be precisely adjusted. There is no waste, and a renewable material is used, namely a powder based on the castor oil plant, which can be recycled. The idea for sustainable, shatterproof visual aids from the printer came to Headrix founder Stanislav Gempel while he was still a student at TU Berlin. The glasses are now available from several opticians. Customers can choose between standard models and custom-made designs.
Doubly sustainable: from car tyres to exhibition flooring
At the ZERO theme island in Hall 27, visitors can experience the topic of ‘zero waste’ up close. Around 20 exhibitors offer colourful insights into resource-saving, environmentally friendly ideas, including reuse workshops, organic vegan products and sustainable consumption approaches. The entire ZERO stand area of around 267 square metres is equipped with sustainable exhibition flooring made from single-type tyre rubber granulate from MRH Mülsen.
‘The floor is really comfortable, especially since we'll be standing on it for ten days,’ says designer Sigrid Münzberg, who offers upcycling and DIY fashion workshops in Hall 27 with Sekundär-Schick. ‘I particularly like the fact that the floor is sustainable in two ways,’ she adds. On the one hand, the surface consists of lots of small puzzle pieces made of rubber granulate, which are taken apart again at the end of the trade fair, cleaned and stored for their next appearance. In addition, they have already had a first life as car tyres.
‘You can leave old tyres in the garden for a thousand years, they won't rot,’ says Christina Guth from the New Life initiative. Her aim is to keep old tyres, which are still too often incinerated, in the recycling cycle. At the stand directly opposite the Grüne Woche stage, she explains how old tyres are shredded into rubber granulate and processed into flooring for gyms, sports fields and exhibition halls. They are also used in horse and cow stables. ‘Many farmers have already realised that cows produce more milk when they walk on softer ground,’ explains Christina Guth. The flooring is also popular in retirement homes. It can prevent injuries if an elderly person falls.
Muharrem Batman in his repair café on the Grüne Woche's ZERO theme island