Global Problem: High contamination of blue bins

While there is a growing awareness and action about sustainability, such as disposing of items in the blue recycling bin, there is a lack of public education on the definition of a recyclable. 

As a result, non-recyclables are disposed of into the blue bin, leading to contamination. Such contamination can result in spoiling the rest of the recyclables collected. Hence, there is wasted recycling effort. 

Currently only 4% of plastics are recycled, and the other 96% are incinerated, ending up in the Semakau landfill which is projected to reach maximum capacity by year 2035.

Local Problem: Lack of a proper handling system for PLA wastes in SUTD

There is a lack of a proper handling system for PLA (polylactic acid) wastes to minimize waste contamination. Hence, PLA plastics are directly incinerated even though they have the potential to be used again.

Value Proposition

WasteNOT focuses on recycling plastics locally which means sorting of plastics at a local area such as in SUTD, and in our future plans - under HDB blocks, as opposed to centralised recyclers who collect a quarter of Singapore's recyclables before getting down to sorting them at the Material Recovery Facility.

1. Decentralised

Decentralised system for sorted, less contaminated plastic waste

2. Fuss-Free

Easy riddance of waste with no extra work

3. Fully Automated

Fully autonomous system

All Features

Our Solution: Introducing WasteNOT!

WasteNOT is a decentralised PLA plastic recycler that provides users a fuss-free experience with plastic recycling and encourages them to play their part in sustainability. The decentralised plastic recycler is a fuss-free process that is entirely automated, reducing the hectic manual process of sorting hence allowing for less-contaminated plastics. Shredding is then conducted which produces plastic flakes that can be used for upcycled products.

Subsystem Integration 

WasteNOT comprises of mutiple integrated subsystems that are fully automated. This means that our users are able to just drop-and-go when using our machine and still experience the full benefit of their PLA plastic waste being sorted, shredded and collected properly! 

1. 1. Sensing Platform

i. Autonomous

Automatic sensing of colour and weight

2. Sorting Platform

i. Transportation 

Automatic sorting and delivery of waste to the desinated storage unit quickly

3. Storage Platform

i. Efficient

Stored coloured PLA waste is dispensed only when the storage unit is full

4. Shredding Platform

i. Powerful

Able to shred a diamater of 5cm³ PLA waste

ii. Quality flakes

Produce clean 7mm plastic shreds to be used for upcycling

5. Flake Collection Platform

i. Smart

Individual containers catered for different colours

ii. Large capacity

Containers have large capacity to store flakes produced from multiple work cycles

 

Customer's Feedback

“We look forward to use recycled plastic flakes to create upcycled products.”

-Yew Jin, CTO of The Plastic Project

“We take in recycled plastics of all types to produce sludge to reinforce roads. And that includes PLA.”

- Chu Xian Oh, Founder of Magorium