The 2023 Circular Plastics Case Competition challenged participants to create innovative solutions to promote sustainability within the plastics value chain. In partnership with Hillenbrand and Coca-Cola, the inaugural program posed the question: How might we rethink the plastics value chain to improve material circularity to keep plastics in the economy and out of the environment? 

‘Plastic leakage’ is an industry term to describe all plastic materials that are not kept in a circular loop or properly managed at the end-of-life, and therefore leak into the environment. The opposite of plastic leakage is material circulation. In this process, materials are continually kept in a loop, eliminating waste from going into the landfill.

"To create a circular plastics economy, it’s critical that all stakeholders, including the next generation of talent, come together to develop solutions,” said Tory Flynn, Chief Sustainability Officer of Hillenbrand. “This is far too pressing of an issue for the next generation to sit on the sidelines and pass judgment on the plastic industry. Durable plastics have a role to play in our world, but plastic leakage does not. I am incredibly encouraged by the global response to this competition to help shape what matters for tomorrow.”

Students and professionals from around the world proposed over 50 creative solutions that divert plastic from the waste stream and aid in the responsible management of the lifecycle of plastic. Of these solutions, five teams were selected as finalists and presented their solutions to a panel of industry experts for a chance to win the $10,000 grand prize. All finalist teams had an exclusive opportunity to connect with sustainability professionals in the plastics industry. At the event, finalists learned more about how people and organizations are working towards circularity in the plastics industry. 

“We believe developing a circular economy is the most impactful path to address the environmental issues created by packaging. That’s why we established World Without Waste, our ambitious global sustainable packaging initiative,” said Kurt Ritter, VP of Sustainability, The Coca-Cola Company North America. “The creativity and ingenuity of the submissions and the people behind them are exemplary of what our society needs to continue to nurture and promote in order to make a truly circular economy a reality.”

Take a look at our finalists:

1^st Place: Ashaya - India

One of the hardest forms of plastic to recycle is metalized multi-layered plastic packaging, which is used with products such as chip packets and candy wrappers. Ashaya has developed (patent-pending) technology that extracts materials from this waste and converts it into premium products like sunglasses, their first proof of concept. What makes them different? They partner with local waste pickers to collect the specific plastic, which provides wages for often low-income community members while removing plastic from the environment. A portion of the proceeds is used to provide schooling for the children of their waste pickers. Learn more about Ashaya here.

Potential Impact: Ashaya estimated that their lab has scaled to process more than 2,500 kg of plastic waste annually.

2^nd Place: VENDIFY - Tanzania

VENDIFY is a Tanzania-based solution that leverages business model innovation to increase plastic circularity. Local women are employed to manage solar-powered vending machines, which distribute soaps and cooking biofuel. Consumers can bring their own reusable containers, removing the need for new plastic containers every time their products are empty. This solution also allows consumers to purchase small quantities of products to fit within a wide range of budgets and aims to serve rural communities.

Potential Impact: VENDIFY aims to scale its business and eventually divert more than 1000 kg of plastic waste from landfills annually.

3^rd Place: Ecovend - Spain

Students from the ESADE Business School in Spain aim to reduce plastic packaging waste by launching in-store toilet paper vending machines. Ecovend would work with stores and distributors to provide bulk shipments of toilet paper without single-use plastic packaging, ensuring quality and safety. Consumers would select their desired quantity and type of toilet paper via the vending machine, where the product would be dispensed immediately.

Potential Impact: If launched, the team estimates that Ecovend has the potential to eliminate approximately 46 million kg of plastic waste annually.

Top 5 Finalist: To-Go Green - USA

Created by graduate students at the University of San Diego, To-Go Green’s business solution addresses the landfill plastic caused by food delivery containers, utensils, and packaging. Instead of throwing away single-use plastic materials after a meal delivery, individuals could select To-Go Green reusable materials when ordering and then easily drop them off after use at another local grocery store or restaurant.

Potential Impact: To-Go Green estimates that their business model has the potential to keep over 7 million tons of plastic out of landfills annually, even at a 50% adoption rate.

Top 5 Finalist: Golden Plastics - Ghana

Students and graduates from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana created the social enterprise Golden Plastics to address plastic leakage. The organization seeks to employ local female garbage pickers to collect plastic waste from the environment; a key business objective is to provide income to rural women who are living below the poverty line. After sorting, cleaning, and molding the plastic materials, they would be turned into new products, such as furniture and wall designs.

Potential Impact: Golden Plastics estimates that their organization could absorb over 244,000 kg of plastic annually from the environment and repurpose them around the community.

Learn More

To learn more about the Circular Plastics Challenge and our partners, head on over the program press release.