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Waste & Recycling May 22, 2017 11:30:31 AM

$1 Million Challenge seeks to make all plastic packaging recyclable

Paul Ploumis
ScrapMonster Author
The deadline for submission of entries to the competition is 20 Oct, 2017 5 pm EDT.

$1 Million Challenge seeks to make all plastic packaging recyclable

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) has joined hands with Cleveland-headquartered NineSigma to launch $1 Million in grants to boost efforts to make all plastic packaging recyclable.

The production of plastics and its use have increased considerably over the years. The plastics production has jumped higher significantly from just over 1.5 million tonnes in 1950’s to 288 million tonnes in 2012. The use of plastics totaled 311 million tonnes in 2014, increasing by almost twenty-fold over the past 50 years. Also, plastics consumption is feared to double in the next twenty years. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation had earlier warned that there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050, unless drastic changes happen in the way plastics are handled.

The $1 Million Circular Materials Challenge, partnered by NineSigma, aims to make all plastic packaging recyclable. A large variety of plastics packaging in use today such as crisp packets, food wrappers and shampoo sachets uses layers of different materials fused together, with the aim of keeping their contents fresh. However, this makes the packaging difficult to recycle. For instance, the UK Recycling Association had listed a number of hard-to-recycle packaging solutions. Pringles tubes and Lucozade Sport bottles featured on top of the list. The Circular Materials Challenge invites participants to put forward alternative materials that could be universally recycled or composted.

According to Dame Ellen MacArthur, founder, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a change could be brought about in the present system only by redesigning the way plastic items are made. A new series of packaging solutions needs to be designed which simultaneously offers freshness of food contents and recyclability. The Circular Materials Challenge calls for entries from scientific and technical experts from across the world to keep plastics packaging in the economy and out of the oceans, Dame noted. Meantime, Andy Zynga, CEO, NineSigma hoped that the Challenge launched in partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation would produce innovative solutions to redefine the future of plastics.

The competition is open to all individuals over the age of 18. Participants are required to create an account on http://ninesights.ninesigma.com. All entries must be in English and can contain attachments and links to videos. The entries will be judged by an eminent panel consisting of senior executives from major businesses, widely recognized scientists and academics. The deadline for submission of entries to the competition is 20 Oct, 2017 5 pm EDT.

The awards event will be held in January next year. The $1 Million in grants will be shared equally by up to 5 winners. The winners will also have access to 12-month Accelerator program which will commence in February 2018.

The Prize is launched in collaboration with the Prince of Wales's International Sustainability Unit and is funded by Wendy Schmidt, Lead Philanthropic Partner of the New Plastics Economy Initiative.

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