CIRCULAZE Virtual Trend Tour: Waste

mujō

What if, instead of polluting landfills and oceans for centuries, packaging could be designed to disappear naturally and quickly? Berlin based start-up mujō has found a solution with their biodegradable packaging materials made of kelp.

What They Do: Every year, 454 million tons of plastic are produced globally. Over a third of this plastic is then used for packaging, and, as we very well know, single-use plastic is not meant to last. But what if, instead of polluting landfills and oceans for centuries, packaging could be designed to disappear naturally and quickly? Berlin based start-up mujō has found a solution with their biodegradable packaging materials made of kelp, a fast-growing alga that doesn’t need additional water or agricultural land to grow. Their team of designers and scientists are using natural resources to develop supplies that also give back to the planet – did you know kelp produces oxygen and purifies the ocean water as it grows? Mujō, a Japanese concept with its origin in Buddhism, refers to the impermanence of all being. Exactly what packaging materials should embody. The innovative team at mujō is making sure that the products of today no longer become the waste of tomorrow.

Matter

Scientists estimate that microplastic pollutants washed off synthetic clothes during laundry contribute to up to 35% of the plastic polluting our oceans, poisoning marine life, and even ending up in the food we eat. Bristol based start-up Matter is on a mission to reduce that figur.

What They Do: Our clothing is an often underreported and overlooked pollutant. Scientists estimate that microplastic pollutants washed off synthetic clothes during laundry contribute to up to 35% of the plastic polluting our oceans, poisoning marine life, and even ending up in the food we eat. Matter is on a mission to reduce that figure, addressing the source of the issue: your laundry. Gulp is their answer. The world’s first self-cleaning microfibre filter fits any washing machine filter, removing the microplastic fibres at the source. Gulp eats microplastics so that you don’t have to. Matter’s next step is to complete the loop, finding ways to recycle these microplastics into other products we need, while keeping the oceans clean for us all to enjoy.

Mr. Green Africa

Since 2017, Mr. Green Africa has created 120 jobs, has improved the livelihood of more than 2,500 litter pickers, and cleaned up the environment by collecting over 6,000 tons of waste, eventually selling the recycled product to manufacturing companies.

What They Do: Nairobi and Zurich are worlds apart. Yet both cities face plastic waste. Former economics student Keiran Smith originally founded Mr. Green as a recycling subscription for Swiss customers in 2014, he then wanted to prove that the business model also worked in a frontier market. He started with fellow student Karim Debabe in Nairobi, Kenya, a city drowning in single-use plastic. Since 2017, Mr. Green Africa has created 120 jobs, has improved the livelihood of more than 2,500 litter pickers by providing them with a fair, predictable income. He has cleaned up the environment by collecting over 6,000 tons of waste and now processes the plastic in his factory, selling the recycled product to manufacturing companies. An attempt that just has been boosted by a major round of investment to scale its business model across the continent. The once pioneer has turned into a true change-maker.