Project: Circular Design Solutions Hub
Team Members:
Summary:
Trillions of dollars are lost annually because of waste caused by products designed for a linear economy. Having to extract raw materials, manufacture new products, ship them, and eventually landfill/incinerate them causes massive damage to the planet, emits large amounts of CO2, and waste valuable and limited resources. The solution, an online platform where designers, engineers, innovators, can collaborate together to design zero-waste and circular economy alternatives. Currently, many innovators are working independently to solve similar issues. Why not connect and leverage these distributed individuals just like distributed computer networks do?
Sustainable Development Goals:
Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
Sustainable Cities and Communities
Responsible Consumption and Production
Life on Land
Skills & Resources Needed:
Web developer to help create an MVP website.
Help performing market research to identify best beachhead and revenue model.
E-commerce help with the pilot site.
Help identifying, on-boarding, and most importantly verifying the claims of suppliers.
Blockchain?
Post-Capsule Goals:
University Partnership or Collaboration
Incubator Program
Accelerator Program
Project Motivation:
Work in the solid waste industry. After China's Nation Sword Policy, it's become all too apparent that America's single-stream recycling system, which produces an average contamination rate of about 20%, isn't logical or economically viable. The best solution is to design with circularity in mind and eliminate downstream waste creation in the first place. This project was born from the idea that many minds working together on the same problem can accelerate economically viable alternatives.