Closing the loop: four pioneers of the new circular economy

The express upcycling system for ‘single-use’ plastics

Arthur Huang is an architect, structural engineer, and serial innovator who sees trash as a resource just waiting to be turned into new materials. His Taipei based company Miniwiz creates ingenious and efficient recycling systems, and is so innovative that it is churning out methods to create 20 new products from trash every month. Huang and his team specialize in creating value from what has previously been considered useless, such as cigarette butts; Miniwiz has developed systems that turn the paper and tobacco parts of the butt into compost, while extracting acetate from the filter that can then be used to create molded products such as sunglasses.

One of Miniwiz’s most recent projects is the aptly named Trashpresso - a mobile upcycling system that can transform plastic bottles and other single-use plastic products into high quality carpet tiles at a rate of 110 pounds (about 50 kilos) per hour. Trashpresso uses a three-step process: First, the plastic is deconstructed into small flakes, which are deep cleaned and then dried out using a dehumidifier. The flakes are then melted and poured into molds to make the tiles. All of the water used in the process is purified using reverse osmosis, and fed back into the system. The vision for Trashpresso is to demystify the recycling process, bringing it to communities around the world that are confronting waste issues so that they can see its viability as an economic model.

The tech disruptors using AI to cut food waste

One third of all food produced for human consumption ends up in the trash, according the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. That’s 1.3 billion tons of food every year. When it comes to feeding ourselves there is a yawning efficiency gap, particularly in wealthy countries. Losses occur across farming, supply, retail, hospitality, and with consumers. UK tech company Winnow Solutions is using an Artificial Intelligence (AI) approach to develop systems to cut down on food waste in the hospitality industry. The Winnow system is a smart bin that uses imaging tech, scales, and in-built machine learning to log both the type and quality of food that kitchens are throwing away. In the initial weeks of use, kitchen staff input the type of food they are discarding via an app. Over time, the Winnow system learns to recognize food types and automatically categorizes them each time they are thrown away, eliminating human error and providing accurate data that can be cross-referenced to reduce food costs. Winnow Solutions estimate that using their system creates an overall reduction in food waste for a typical client of 40-70 per cent, and an annual two to eight per cent reduction in food costs. The company has already installed scores of devices, with uptake from leading brands like Ikea, Accor Hotels and catering giant Compass Group.

The nylon producer spinning trash into virgin-quality nylon yarn

Aquafil has been in the nylon business for more than 50 years. In the last decade the Italian company has dedicated its attention to building out a whole new supply chain and production process that replaces chemicals sourced from the oil industry with discarded nylon. Aquafil is creating virgin-quality nylon yarn using everything from old fishing nets to synthetic carpet to offcuts from the fashion industry. Aquafil CEO Giulio Bonazzi embarked on the sustainability odyssey with little idea of what would be required to create a global supply chain out of waste, as well as develop a chemical process for transforming it into nylon yarn. But with tenacity and dedication, the company has been able to do both. Its patented ECONYL thread uses a process to break down nylon waste into its chemical building blocks, then polymerizing it to create a product as pure as virgin nylon from the petrochemical industry. Waste from around the world arrives at a warehouse in the small Slovenian town of Adjvoščina, before being transported to Aquafil’s main facility in the capital Ljubjana. The company is currently processing upward of 40,000 tons of discarded nylon each year and has a growing list of clients in the fashion and homeware industries. One of Aquafil’s biggest clients is Italian fashion brand Prada, whose global reputation owes much to its iconic nylon bags - a new collection of which was launched this year under the Re-Nylon tag.

The post millennial inventor cleaning up the ocean

Scientific evidence shows that plastics now permeate virtually every ecosystem on earth - from the deepest seabed to the upper atmosphere. Extensive media coverage of this issue showing us images of turtles tangled in nets, or dead whales on beaches their stomachs full of plastic, have ensured that in the past few years the plastic pollution crisis affecting the planet has finally struck home. Brands and consumers alike are concerned, and at last appear to be taking action. One of the most high profile initiatives aimed at dealing with plastic waste in the ocean is the aptly named Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit built around an ingenious technology that removes plastics, including microplastics, from the water column. Its Dutch inventor Boyan Slat shot to prominence back in 2014 when he introduced the world to a device aimed at capturing ocean plastics at scale. Thanks to an enormously successful crowdfunding campaign, Slat was able to build his device. The Ocean Cleanup technology is now operating on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It consists of a barrier with a 10-foot (three-meter) skirt beneath the water surface, which traps free-floating plastic. The system makes use of passive energy in the form of wind and currents, while boats periodically collect the trapped plastics for recycling. The plan is to set up similar systems in locations around the world so that by 2040, 90 percent of plastic waste will have been removed from the ocean.