A challenge to develop new solutions for waste management and recycling

Towards optimization of plastic waste management in Asia.

Each year, about 8 million tons of plastic waste enters our oceans, equivalent to five full trash bags along every inch of coastline worldwide. An estimated 60% of ocean plastics is a result of mismanaged waste from five Asian nations. For this reason, many leaders recognize that optimizing land-based plastic waste management across this region is an impactful first step to ending the crisis. However, as the layers are peeled back, an important ingredient is missing : data.

Data on plastic production and waste management across South and Southeast Asia is missing, inconsistent, or unreliable because the region’s complex plastics value chains are fragmented and reliant on the informal economy. The result has limited visibility and transparency as well as an inability to effectively track, monitor, forecast, or optimize material flows and reduce ocean leakage. Technologies, models and data science being applied in other complex systems can be adopted into plastic waste management and revolutionize Asia’s circular economy.

The challenge invites institutions, startups, companies, and data scientists from around the globe to develop advanced solutions to be applied across plastic waste management and recycling value chains in South and Southeast Asia.

• Improved Visibility of Plastic Waste Generation and Material Flows The challenge seeks to identify innovative data solutions and working prototypes that improve the visibility, efficiency and value creation across circular supply chains for plastics in South and Southeast Asia.
• Optimization of Circular Supply Chains for Plastics The challenge seeks to identify innovative data solutions and working prototypes that optimize the circular supply chains for plastics by improving their connectivity, visibility, transparency, efficiency and value creation across South and Southeast Asia.
• Identification & Prevention of Plastic Waste Leakage The challenge seeks to identify innovative data solutions and working prototypes that identify and prevent the leakage of plastic waste into waterways across South and Southeast Asia.

The Incubation Network by The Circulate Initiative and Second Muse is building a thriving circular economy by developing, promoting and incubating innovative technologies, business models and entrepreneurs that prevent ocean plastic pollution in South and Southeast Asia. This initiative will create a connected network of innovators, investors, civil society organizations, and government leaders across South and Southeast Asia. Collectively, they will design and deliver programs that drive investment, innovation, and partnerships for inclusive and gender-responsive waste management and circular economy solutions.

As a leading open innovation provider, Agorize is hoping to build a diverse and collaborative global community around this initiatives to gather the world best experts, entrepreneurs, partners, startups, mentors or corporate leaders in different sectors, aim to raise the awareness of data gap in waste management and provide a space for innovators to address this challenge.

Check the Challenge Page
https://www.agorize.com/plastics-data-challenge 

Agorize is the leading global platform for Open Innovation and talent engagement challenges. Founded in Paris in 2011 with offices across Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, Canada, and Japan. Agorize has supported over 300 international companies in furthering their innovation strategies by connecting them with our global community of 5 million innovators through Open Innovation challenges. Through our software as a service (SaaS), you can tailor-make innovation programs and business challenges dedicated to fostering innovation and sourcing talent.

Corporate Website
https://get.agorize.com/en 

Challenge page
https://www.agorize.com/en