Photo credit: RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images. Retrieved from forbes.com
A new strategic partnership aims to boost the circular economy innovation on the island of Puerto Rico to convert unmanaged or landfilled items, such as sargassum seaweed, plastics and tires, into new products.
The New York-based technology center, Newlab, and the island’s economic development organization, Invest Puerto Rico, are recruiting entrepreneurs and early-stage companies to pilot innovative waste conversion solutions.
The aim is to reduce landfill waste, unlock the potential for renewable life cycles of materials, such as end-of-life tires, waste plastics, and sargassum seaweed, and turn these items into valuable resources.
Sargassum is a seaweed whose excess growth in recent years is affecting the coastal ecosystems and communities of Puerto Rico and other nearby Caribbean islands.
Tires are another damaging waste stream in Puerto Rico, with almost 18,000 tires being disposed every day on the island.
And by harnessing advancements in recycling technologies and circular design principles, the partners seek to make plastic recycling viable in Puerto Rico to alleviate the issues around plastic waste and reduce dependency on imports.