maarten en jelle op olivijn duurzaam wandelpad

Working together towards a sustainable future

Municipality of Haarlem cleans up CO2

thanks to two young enthusiasts and a smart grandpa

Project data

Location: Haarlem - Kenermerplein

Cleanup potential: 34,000 kg CO₂

In the centre

On the Kennemerplein

Behind the station, a kiss and ride strip has been laid out with greenSand olivine-rich semi-paving. This weathers and then absorbs CO₂ as it weathers, especially after a rain shower. The more you walk on the stones, the faster the CO₂ clears.

In the Waarderpolder

A footpath and exit lane

At the Jacques Meuwissenweg there is a beautiful walking path of greenSand Olivine. And our CO₂ clearing stones are also located on the exit lane at the car park on Claes Tillyweg.

Maarten and Jelle tell

* The video talks about olivine paths. This refers to paths of greenSand Olivine, which is made from olivine-rich rocks.

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The story of Maarten and Jelle

The municipality of Haarlem attaches great importance to sustainability. This enabled the young Haarlemmers Maarten Hulsman and Jelle Brans to realize their dream of having CO₂ clearing paths built in their municipality. Read their inspiring story below.

Grandpa's knowledge

Maarten says that he was looking for ways to remove CO₂ from the air for a profile assignment. When he visited his grandfather, he told that there are also rocks that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Maarten found this an interesting fact and delved into the matter of the weathering of rocks. He came across the publications of Professor Olaf Schuiling , who saw the mineral olivine as the way to solve climate problems.

Initiative

Maarten was totally into it. He persuaded Jelle to jointly publicize the solution to the climate problem. Starting in their own hometown. In November 2019, they pitched their plans in the Haarlem Initiative Café. Here, all residents can put forward their ideas for the city. With their pitch and well-executable plans, the two won and earned an amount of 5,000 euros to implement their plans.

Promoters

Three paths have now been laid in Haarlem with olivine - rich rocks from the greenSand . Maarten and Jelle have since started studying. They are teaming up with greenSand to promote the solution that has been used by the earth for billions of years. So that more and more people can help clean up the excess of CO₂. Maarten and Jelle say: "We will first go for Haarlem and the surrounding area, then the Netherlands and then cross the border."