(Appendix: Waste Collection, Materials and Recycling Supply Chain and Technologies)
iTrash Taiwan - Smart Bin Startup**
SG Stone Paper Technology Taiwan company - Replacement to plastic. Has a patented on-premise smart bin machine system that recognizes qualified materials via QR code. The machine redeems deposits and reverts the material (i.e. single-use cup) back to stone dust pellets for regeneration and re-manufacturing. Skips costly infrastructure buildout to reprocess back to raw material offsite. Appropriate for food establishments, hotel, universities, high volume food and beverage establishments.)**
Material Science
Ioniqa
Restores PET plastics to virgin PET
Ioniqa’s novel technology is focused on PET plastics only but could be applied in the future to other plastics and organic materials as well. Ioniqa is launching a novel circular recycling process for infinite recycling of PET bottles, textiles and carpets infinitely, thereby contributing to the circular economy.
MILENA-OLGA **
Dutch company that has made a revolutionary carbon-neutral energy plant that turns waste into electricity with little or no harmful byproducts. Converts waste into the highest form of energy, so it becomes economically attractive
EVP R-ONE https://www.evptechnology.com
Taiwan company. Recycling technology company that has invented a safe process to restore mixed and unwashed petroleum-based plastic waste into clean diesel. Seasoned inventors with several patents. Managing partner Gordon Yu recognized as a top innovator by Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Visitors: The Ocean Cleanup from The Nederlands, Gunter Pauli - Ecover Founder & Blue Economy author, and Government of Honduras.
Polymateria
http://www.polymateria.com/our-products
UK company
Our mission is to develop biodegradable, recyclable, customizable and cost-effective plastic products and beat global plastic pollution. Polymateria is setting a new standard in environmentally responsible plastic, and is backed by world-class chemists and material scientists. Our products are designed to be the benchmark in the global plastics industry: biodegradable, customizable and cost-effective.
Neropol
Hong Kong company
Data Science
Topolytics, Waste has value so why not map it. **
Scottish startup that works with companies to map out their waste streams to provide transparency and reveal the value of waste in ways that only data can do. http://topolytics.com/about/
Organizations
American Chemical Council***
Plastics Groups: Plastics-to-Fuels Research - Creating energy from non-recycled plastics via "pirolysis". Website: https://plastics.americanchemistry.com/Product-Groups-and-Stats/Plastics-to-Fuel/Plastics-to-Fuel-Resources.html
The Ocean Cleanup***
Boyan Slat and his crazy vision for sweeping waste in the ocean
https://www.theoceancleanup.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du5d5PUrH0I
Plastic Whale Fishing Company - Amsterdam ***
An organization that cleans up plastic in canals and oceans and collaborates on furniture and boats. https://plasticwhale.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qiif6cTC_cA
Social Plastic and Plasticbank, David Katz ***
Social Plastic® is Plastic Bank Verified plastic that provided a premium for the collector. The premiums are called Plastic Bank Rewards. These rewards are distributed and authenticated through the Plastic Bank app which uses Blockchain technology to provide the safest and most trusted means to deliver a globally scalable social impact.
Design
Seepje Detergent (Netherlands) - Iconic and sustainable
https://www.flex.nl/en/red-dot-award-for-seepje/
Miniwiz Arthur Hwang
Focusses on turning post-consumer waste into high-performance materials
Projects from zero-carbon emission mobile recycling plants to NIKE booths to polymer walls...
Brand projects and activations.
Indoor furniture
Vepa Furniture Project (with Plastics Fishing company)
https://vepa.nl/sustainability/circular-economy/?lang=en
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qiif6cTC_cA
Outdoor
Furniture
Other outdoor applications
Shipping pallets: https://www.re-pal.com/
Tree grates: http://polygrate.com/
Lankhurst - Dutch company, panels, bridges, walkways, parklets
Outdeco - compressed eucalyptus wall panels
Cool Movements
Precious Plastic
Started in 2013 by Dave Hakkens and is now at its third iteration (version) counting on dozens of people working on the project, remotely or on-site (somewhere below sea level in the Netherlands). Precious Plastic is a global community of hundreds of people working towards a solution to plastic pollution. Knowledge, tools and techniques are shared online, for free. So everyone can start (yes, you too!).
We are independent, poor but free. Hundreds of people all over the world contribute to the project with their skills & knowledge, single or monthly donations.
http://www.makery.info/en/2017/01/02/arts-plastiques-3-0-a-taiwan
https://preciousplastic.com/en/
Education
Earth Day Fact Sheet
https://www.earthday.org/2018/03/29/fact-sheet-single-use-plastics/
Plastics Recycling
https://plastics.americanchemistry.com/Lifecycle-of-a-Plastic-Product/
https://circle-lab.com/knowledge-hub/recycling-plastics
Documentary
https://plasticoceans.org/a-plastic-ocean-film-impact/
AI, Digital Strategy With Regards to Waste
Policy Issues
Taiwan
Taiwan Announces Ban on All Plastic Bags, Straws, and Utensils by 2030 - Global Citizen, Feb 2018. The first part of the regulation includes banning chain restaurants from giving straws to customers in 2019, and then an overall ban on straws in dining outlets by 2020. Retail stores will be charged for providing free plastic bags, disposable food containers, and utensils in 2020 and additional fees will be added in 2025.
These measures will culminate in a flat-out ban on single-use bags, utensils, straws, and containers by 2030, Hong Kong Free Press reports.
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/taiwan-ban-on-plastic-bags-straws-utensils-contain/
The Circular Economy is the Future for Taiwan Manufacturing - Article from Business Topics, published by the American Chamber of Commerce Taiwan. Author: Stephen Su, Director General of Knowledge & Strategy at ITRI, former McKinsey
It is ultimately about Taiwan’s global competitiveness, existential future, and the need to get ahead as it continues to trail behind Japan, S. Korea, and China. https://topics.amcham.com.tw/2018/05/the-circular-economy-is-the-future-for-taiwan-manufacturing/
European Union
EU Plastic Strategy Criticised for Bioplastics Limits
https://www.esmmagazine.com/eu-plastic-strategy-criticised-for-bioplastics-limits/54646
The EU strategy for reducing plastic waste has come under criticism for not including concrete measures to support biodegradable plastics and limiting itself to mechanical recycling, according to a European lobby group.
The European Bioplastics association (EUBP) said that the European Strategy for Plastics, published on Tuesday by the European Commission (EC), recognized the contribution that bio-based plastics solutions made to a circular economy but added that concrete measures to further encourage them were still missing.
China
Interview with Circular economy director, Mr. Yang Chun Ping
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54npb1YrnZI
China-EU agreement paves way for global adoption of Circular Economy
Transition to a circular economy in the world’s two largest economies could accelerate adoption of circular economy practices at a global scale, creating the potential for a ‘system shift’ towards a low carbon, regenerative economy.
China’s transition to a circular economy could make goods and services more affordable for citizens, and reduce impacts normally associated with middle-classs lifestyles, such as traffic congestion and air pollution.
China’s ban on garbage
In 2017, China passed the "National Sword" policy, which permanently bans the import of non-industrial plastic waste as of January 2018
"We know from our previous studies that only 9 percent of all plastic ever produced has been recycled, and the majority of it ends up in landfills or the natural environment."