Global Solutions
Mr. Trash Wheel
Mr. Trash Wheel is a Baltimore-based innovation to combat pollution in the harbor. He runs off renewable energy, hydropower and solar, to collect and sort marine debris. Mr. Trash Wheel has been incredibly successful, collecting over 2,000 tons of trash and debris!
The Plastic Bank
The Plastic Bank has involved 604 communities around the world to stop over 52 million kg of plastic from reaching the oceans. The plastic bank allows its ocean stewards to exchange their collected plastic for “secure income and life-improving benefits that include access to health, work and life insurance, social assistance, digital connectivity and banking services.” This gives a worth to plastic that would otherwise plague our oceans and wildlife. At the same time, it empowers people across the world to make a difference in the plastic pollution crisis and be financially rewarded.
The PlasticRoad
Across the world, The PlasticRoad is finding a great solution to deal with the 40% of plastics that cannot be recycled. They are using these plastics to build our roads. This is an incredibly eco-friendly alternative, as it redirects unrecyclable plastic to a less harmful end-location and uses significantly fewer carbon emissions to build with than traditional asphalt. The PlasticRoad’s product causes a 72% reduction in carbon emissions, mitigates flooding, reduces transport costs and emissions, and can store water. Check out their site to learn more about PlasticRoad technology and innovation!
Great Bubble Barrier
The Great Bubble Barrier is a unique solution to tackle marine debris by creating a bubble “wall” to divert trash while not disturbing the marine environment in a river. The Bubble Barrier is incredibly low-impact on the ecosystem while having a high impact on its pollution removal! The Bubble Barrier is safe for ships, fish, and applicable to many different types of rivers. This solution can be brought even to a river in your own town through the “Clean My River” initiative.
Scandinavian Heating
In Denmark, trash burned in one facility fuels the heating and electricity of nearly 100,000 homes. The waste fuels a furnace that creates steam, which circulates and provides heat and electricity. The facility has numerous forms of technology to reduce the toxic released chemical from burning waste to have very minimal risk. This type of technology is much more common in Scandinavian countries, like Denmark or Sweden.
Alternatives to Plastic Packaging
Packaging for food that gets discarded as soon as you get home from the store. There are multiple companies around the world that are reinventing packaging as we know it. They utilize special properties found in seaweed or brewery waste to create an innovation that may change our lives and the plastic crisis. Great examples of companies using alternatives to plastic as packaging include Notpla and Outlander Materials.
Circular Plastic Economy
Ellen MacArthur, founder of the MacArthur foundation, believes that we need to change our approach on plastic. Currently, the life cycle of plastics is very “linear”. It is produced from oil, used, then thrown away. The circular plastic economy plan works to avoid plastic waste through a six-pronged plan. More than 1,000 companies have signed on to put this plan in action and realize a future without plastic waste.
United Nations Plastic Pollution Committee
In March 2022, the United Nations Environmental Assembly put a major foot forward to find a solution for plastic pollution: establishing an “Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee.” This committee will work to reinvent plastics and our use of them as we know it. This is an incredibly significant plan for the environment that involves many members of the world in this worldwide plastic pollution crisis.