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The Plastic Waste to Value Southeast Asia Challenge announces five innovators

The Plastic Waste to Value Southeast Asia Challenge announces five innovators

Bangkok, August 11, 2022 - The Incubation Network, in partnership with the Global Plastic Action Partnership, UpLink by the World Economic Forum, and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, have recently launched the Plastic Waste to Value Southeast Asia Challenge to tackle plastic waste mismanagement in the region.

Established to accelerate innovative solutions that are focused on plastic recycling and upcycling in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, the challenge is excited to unveil five innovators that will be participating in the tailored development program over the course of five months.

The challenge received a total of 101 incredible applications through the UpLink platform. 48 shortlisted candidateswere carefully assessed by academic researchers, corporate sustainability practitioners, innovators, and climate & circular economy specialists. The selected innovators will receive partnership building opportunities, mentorship, increased visibility, access to networks, and grants to scale their solutions. 

Urgent sustainable solutions are needed to combat the ever-growing global plastic waste pollution crisis. Between 2017-2019, an estimated 2 million tonnes of plastic waste leakage per year came from Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. This accounts for 17% of annual global marine plastic waste leakage. Plastic waste that is not polluting waterways is either burnt or dumped - posing a significant threat to environmental and biodiversity health. 

The Plastic Waste to Value Southeast Asia Challenge announces five innovators
 

“At The Incubation Network, we empower local entrepreneurs and solutions that are working to prevent plastic waste leakage. Some of our previous programs include the Thailand Waste Management and Recycling Academy which connected early-stage startups to industry experts, and the Thailand SME Scale Up Program which helped recycling and upcycling businesses to scale-up and expand their operations,” says Sirinchayaa Preechapatsakool, Ecosystem Consultant, The Incubation Network. “We are very excited to support the Plastic Waste to Value Southeast Asia Challenge cohort. Their role will be a stepping stone to better waste management system in the region, including in Thailand.”

“Innovative solutions are critical to address plastic waste management in the region. We are thrilled to have worked closely with The Incubation Network and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste to identify an impressive cohort of Top Innovators with high-impact solutions that bring value to plastic waste. We look forward to providing the Innovators with greater visibility and impact in the region.” says Poonam Watine, Knowledge Specialist, Global Plastic Action Partnership.

Solutions have been assessed based on their contributions to at least one of the three focus areas: (1) Increasing the amount of plastic waste managed, processed and/or recycled; (2) supporting the operational improvement of plastic waste management and recycling; and (3) improving working conditions of enterprises in plastic waste management and recycling. 

The Plastic Waste to Value Southeast Asia Challenge announces five innovators

The Plastic Waste to Value Southeast Asia Challenge cohort includes:

TerraCycle Global Foundation (Thailand)
TerraCycle Global Foundation provides simple, innovative, and high impact solutions to prevent, remove, and recycle waste from the environment. 

Bank Sampah Bersinar (Indonesia)
Bank Sampah Bersinar is a social enterprise that provides community-based waste management solutions. 

ENVIROTECH WASTE RECYCLING INC. (Philippines)
Envirotech collects Single-use plastic (SUPs) and turns them into useful products.

Kibumi (Indonesia)
Kibumi is a disruptive startup company that strengthens the plastic recycling supply chain through digitalized and modernized waste collection points.

Plastic People (Vietnam)
Plastic People transforms plastic waste into useful and upcycled products such as furniture or accessories.

The Plastic Waste to Value Southeast Asia Challenge announces five innovators

“Ending plastic waste is a clear and urgent necessity recognising both the environmental costs and economic losses when plastic waste is not recovered,” says Nicholas Kolesch, Vice President Projects at the Alliance to End Plastic Waste. “With growing demand for post-consumer plastic, the Plastic Waste to Value Southeast Asia Challenge will support ventures in the region to close this gap, getting plastics out of the environment and back into a circular economy.”

The Plastic Waste to Value Southeast Asia Challenge is led by The Incubation Network, the Global Plastic Action Partnership, UpLink by the World Economic Forum, and funded by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, and supported by SecondMuse, The Circulate Initiative, Global Affairs Canada, and DEFRA. 
 

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