Startup Uses Blockchain and Sweat To Recycle Ocean Plastic Waste

TaiwanPlus News

A startup company is working with locals in Thailand to collect and recycle plastic garbage from the ocean, using innovations like blockchain technology to track trash throughout the process.

Transcript

00:00These boats on the island of Koh Chang in eastern Thailand

00:05are returning home with their daily catch.

00:08Not fish, but plastic garbage.

00:13They're working with a start-up called Thai

00:15to recycle some of the estimated 6 million tons of plastic waste

00:19that goes into the ocean each year.

00:22It's a problem that can seem endless.

00:30We don't need plastic. It's the best.

00:33Hopefully in the future we can do more

00:36because even 200 tons per year that we can collect for now

00:42I think it's a very small part of this problem.

00:48The company is taking a new approach when it comes to proof

00:51that it's removing plastics from the ocean.

00:54It uses blockchain technology to track the trash

00:57from collection to the end user.

00:59After paying the collectors for their work,

01:02a labor-intensive sorting process begins

01:05due to the wide range of discarded plastics.

01:08While arduous, the company says this kind of work

01:11means it's not necessary to make new plastic.

01:14We are convinced there is more than enough plastic on our world

01:18and we should take what already exists.

01:21The final product of all this work is raw plastic pellets,

01:24known as nurdles.

01:26They're sold to buyers like Condor Group,

01:28one of Europe's largest carpet makers.

01:34The carpets made with recycled plastic

01:36cost as much as 40% more than those made from fresh plastics.

01:40But Condor says customers are willing to pay

01:42for quality, sustainable products.

01:45So we see sustainability not just as a trend

01:49but more as stewardship for future generations to come.

01:53You have to start somewhere,

01:55and the more products that are being launched

01:58and prove that the quality is just the same,

02:01convince others to switch to.

02:03Combining old-fashioned labor with cutting-edge tech,

02:06startups like Tide are trying to make an impact

02:09on a seemingly intractable problem.

02:11And if such efforts are successful,

02:13it could represent a new wave in a sea of plastic.

02:17Klein Wong and Chris Gorin for Taiwan Plus.

02:23Taiwan Plus

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