The WYE kitchen board is made of Neolign. Neolign is a fully colored wood material developed by WYE that is upcycled from wood scraps and kept in a closed material cycle - based on the model of natural cycles and the idea of "Cradle to Cradle". Neolign is pressed into panels and then processed into furniture and accessories in the WYE circular joinery workshop like wood.
During production in the joinery workshop, planings, offcuts and Neolign chips are returned directly to the cycle and reprocessed. If products are damaged (e.g. during transport), they are shredded and pressed into new panels. If a customer wants to redecorate after years of using a WYE product, they can send it back. WYE will buy the product from them in exchange for a credit towards a new product. The old product is shredded and pressed into panels again. Soap dishes are returned after just 2-3 years, furniture after 7-10 years.
This system is modeled on nature - just as a leaf from a tree falls to the ground in autumn, becomes soil there and supplies the same tree with nutrients again. It is not about reducing waste, because in nature there is no waste - everything is a nutrient for new things. The course for a sustainable product is already set in the design process - through the selection of materials and the possibility for the company to take back its material and reprocess it at any time.
This idea is called "Cradle to Cradle" and differs from other sustainability approaches because it is not associated with renunciation, reduction, eco-lifestyle or a higher morality. Instead, the natural systems of our planet - what we call nature - serve as a model for product design. This system is applicable to all industries, a straightforward solution to many climate issues and is in the nature of all living things.
The basic idea is that everything that is used is considered as biological or technical nutrients that circulate in cycles. But this is not about "zero waste" because nature knows no waste, everything is a nutrient.
Evaluate and optimize the life cycle of products and processes so that it resembles a natural system in which there is no waste.
We are part of the planet and therefore part of its cycles – we should accept our role in it as human beings.
How do WYE cutting boards differ from other products?
THE WYE CUTTING BOARD - Our cutting boards are made of Neolign. Neolign is a wood material that is made from upcycling wood chips, the leftovers from sawmills. It also contains polymers and color pigments that can be molded at any time under heat. First there is a granulate made from this mixture - from this we press panels that our carpentry workshop processes into cutting boards. We call Neolign a nutrient because no matter what condition it is in, it can be processed again and again and is therefore based on the model of natural cycles. All by-products that arise during production, such as shavings, offcuts or leftovers, are regranulated and pressed into panels again. This also applies to old products that you return to us and receive a 40% credit on a new product. For this great cycle, we have had Neolign certified for contact with food.
NORMAL WOODEN BOARDS – Sure, wood is a great material – we love it! However, we often forget that the only sustainable component of a wooden cutting board is the renewable raw material. If the lifespan of the board has expired (which is usually the case after a few years), the board must be disposed of in bulky waste as waste wood of class A III (contaminated) due to glue bonds and numerous impregnations. There it can only be thermally recycled, i.e. it is burned and only enters our cycle as energy. Wood is also usually not tested for contact with food. One reason for this is that it would not pass the test due to the secretion of essential oils into the contact object. However, since wood is one of our basic materials and has been used for thousands of years, we have enough experience to determine that it is generally not harmful to humans.
PLASTIC CUTTING BOARDS – Plastic is also a great material – but the devil is in the detail. Plastics that have the property of being able to be deformed under heat at any time are called thermoplastics. They can be melted down and reprocessed at any time – a fantastic cycle! But: Most plastic cutting boards are enriched with numerous additives that make reuse impossible. In addition, there is no manufacturer who takes back their products and reprocesses them. Even worse are cutting boards that are produced outside the EU due to low price specifications, where there is no guarantee of a minimum level of material health. Cheap products from abroad have only one goal – to be sold in large quantities. The health of the people involved in production and of the consumers is usually not taken into account.
