EcoServ Low Technologies

We intend to put a bounty on unrecyclable plastic waste, which will then be heat-compressed into blocks and subsequently stored in a network of mini resource depots distributed around the country. A modest premium of 2 dollars (USD) per kilogram for single-use films and food packaging would incentivize citizens to remediate their local environments and encourage waste separation and collection at the household level. In areas of poor waste management and high poverty such a program would have significant social and ecological knock-on effects.

The blocks can be safely sequestered permanently, preventing marine leakage, or can be repurposed as building material or as feedstock for chemical recycling or waste-to-energy technologies.

The program can be paid for through voluntary purchases of a complementary currency by visiting cruise and overnight tourists; such coupons being redeemable at participating venders on cruise ships or in destination ports.

In Latin America and the Caribbean overall, only 19.8% of municipalities have a solid waste management plan in place. This contributes to: a high rate of inadequate final disposal of municipal solid waste (45%); low cost recovery rates for waste collection and disposal (51.6%); low recycling rates (2.2%); as many as 4 million informal waste pickers; 17,000 tons per day of plastic dumped into the environment; and insufficient data collection on all aspects of waste management.

Caribbean SIDS (Small Island Developing States) share additional burdens partly due to their small size and geographic isolation including: limited waste management options; high poverty rates (OECS ave. 27.6%); high youth unemployment (31%); low financial inclusion; and poor economic integration within the region all combining to reduce the potential for economic growth.

Mismanaged plastic waste in particular can cause significant problems when incinerated (dioxins, furans), or dumped directly into waterways (marine pollution, flooding from drain blockages, micro-habitat for insect vectors). The limitations of island living, combined with the enormous ecological footprint of tourism has made the Caribbean Sea the second worst affected area for plastic pollution globally (after the Mediterranean).  

Data sources: IDB, 2015; UNEP, 2018; ECLAC, 2019.

Our project is focused on member nations of the OECS. Remediation of the physical environment (land and sea) indirectly benefits all citizens (pop 621,276) by improving tourism potential (cleaner beaches, healthier coral). There is a high reliance on tourism (ave 75% of export earnings in OECS), which contributes 56.4 billion USD (14.9% of GDP) and provides 13.4% of employment in the Caribbean overall. We will provide a premium of 2 dollars per kilogram of collected waste plastic to targeted citizens. At full implementation (100% of household- and hotel- generated waste plastic collected; 5 kg per collector per day) our plan provides a daily wage of 10 USD to 27,224 collectors, directly lifting them well above the poverty line (range 5.22 - 8.68 USD per day), while sequestering 136,120 kg of plastic per day. This represents a 29% reduction in the poverty rate for those aged 18+. The depots of plastic also represent stored value for the municipalities who own them should they choose to repurpose the blocks. 

Data sources:  UNICEF, 2019; OECS, 2018; ECLAC 2018

We at EcoServ are developing a simple, cheap, robust appliance that compacts and heats waste plastic films into interlocking 5 kg blocks. The appliance fits inside a 55 gallon drum, uses hand power for compaction, and induction heating to quickly and economically form strong, inert blocks that are stackable in 3 dimensions. The devices will be given (free) to interested local partners in the OECS (youth centers, environmental groups, employment centers), who will actively recruit collectors. Plastic waste will initially be collected from the most polluted spots in the environment, but as those sources dry up we expect an informal, ad hoc household collection system to spontaneously develop. Given a reasonably high premium (we think USD 2 per kg will suffice) we expect to divert nearly all household waste plastic away from landfill disposal, dumping, and incineration. Payment will be made directly into (for many) newly acquired bank accounts to a daily maximum of 10 USD. Payment can be cash only, but more imaginative options should be explored that include some kind of insurance product (health, life, disaster). This increases financial inclusion in the segment of the population most in need of it. 

The blocks can be permanently sequestered for hundreds of years with little to no environmental impact, and with minimal space requirements. For example, assuming 100% plastic collection from households and tourists on Dominica, 10 years’ worth of waste requires only 4 football fields of space (each 100 x 55 meters), dug to 2 meters depth. In fact, football fields or parks can be built over the top of the depots once full. The blocks remain readily available as chemical feedstock or building material should such a demand arise. As an added benefit, since municipal solid waste in the Caribbean consists of 12-14% plastic, the regions’ highly stressed landfills will experience a reprieve.

Funding for the premium will be provided through sales of a new complementary currency (CC) on cruise ships and in local hotels. Unlike more typical CCs it is not local, does not depreciate (demurrage) and cannot be cashed out. It has intrinsic value, representing both poverty reduction and environmental remediation, and exchange value at whatever retailers deem it worthy. It is not virtual. Similar to Canadian dollar bank notes, it is polymer, with anti-counterfeit technology built in.

The use of complementary currency has not been attempted before in the dual service of environmental remediation and poverty reduction. While thousands of CC’s have been created, none have had our unique collection of features:

1. It isn’t local. Notes can be bought and used over a wide geographical, multinational expanse.
2. There is no demurrage. Notes maintain their value permanently. The value itself is solely determined by any retailer willing to take it.
3. It is not officially exchangeable with other currencies and thus can never be cashed out.
4. The unit is the kilogram, representing sequestered plastic and emotionally connecting the buyer to environmental remediation. The price and denominations used will be determined by local conditions.
5. It isn’t virtual. high quality polymer banknote technology will be used with standard anti-counterfeit measures, similar to Canadian and Australian currency. Because the notes are physical most of the CC will circulate locally, increasing economic activity.

Distributed depots

Our resource depots are essentially dedicated landfills for plastic. They are small, unobtrusive, with a low environmental footprint that can be mined at a later date when more advanced technology (chemical recycling, waste-to-energy) become available. The blocks can be sold off as building material for such things as landfill barriers and flood control walls.

Block maker

Our appliance is portable, robust, easy to use and maintain, and cheap to manufacture. They can be made and distributed quickly, and have an immediate impact.

The goals of all the main actors are aligned. 

1. Cruise lines and hotels can leverage PR and marketing opportunities.
2. CC purchasers can feel good about themselves while still getting something of material value.
3. Businesses that accept CC can attract custom while limiting their financial exposure by limiting how the CC can be used.
4. Collectors earn a decent wage.
5. Local residents experience a cleaner environment.
6. Municipalities benefit from reduced strain on landfills, healthier coastal and marine environments attracting tourism, reduced poverty and unemployment, a more vibrant economy, and potential for more inter-island economic activity as CC circulates within the OECS.

A high enough premium can remove virtually all accessible waste plastic from the environment without the need for coercion, regulation, or any formal system. The ingenuity of local people will result in myriad novel ways to ensure no plastic ever becomes pollution. We believe a new entrepreneurial ecosystem will evolve as new ways to use the blocks are developed. Add coir or powdered clam shell to make concrete? Someone is bound to come up with a useful block recipe. 

Our system is conceptually simple and very low-tech. The benefits and opportunities are immediately obvious to all. It can be set up and maintained quickly at very little cost. It functions at any scale, from annual sales of CC of thousands of dollars covering a single island, to billions of dollars helping millions of people world-wide.

Various data will be continuously collected to monitor positive impact and identify negative externalities.

1. Sales of CC (location, season, per capita data).
2. Money transferred to collectors’ bank accounts. 
3. Mass of plastic sequestered.
4. Household surveys on environmental and domestic changes.
5. Money velocity and extent of use of the CC.
6. Changing crime, domestic violence, social nuisance patterns.

1. Develop an efficient manufacturing system for mass production of the appliance.
2. Undertake a pilot study in the OECS (first year).
3. Expand throughout the Caribbean (within 3 years).
4. Global expansion.

Our goal is to eliminate virtually all plastic pollution while reducing poverty on a global scale. Technology is not the problem. A simple block maker and distributed depot system can be set up cheaply and quickly anywhere around the world. Space for sequestered plastic is not the problem. From 1950 to 2015 about 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste was generated globally. Suitably compressed into interlocking blocks, this could fit into a single landfill of 7.75 x 7.75 km with a depth of 150 meters. Money is not the problem. Every year about 10 million tonnes of plastic pollution enter the marine environment. At 2 dollars a kilogram that represents USD 20 billion. Is that a lot of money? Global chewing gum sales are expected to reach USD 48.68 billion by 2025. 

Extreme poverty has rapidly declined in recent years but still around 592 million people get by on $1.90 a day. That 20 billion dollars (less than half of global chewing gum sales) could lift 28.8 million people out of the ranks of the extreme poor.

Technology, space, money, even conceptual complexity are not the problems holding us back.

Lack of imagination is.

Latest data for OECS member states (excluding Monserrat):

Estimated total plastic waste production: 35,365 tonnes per year. (This assumes tourists generate 3 times the local rate. MSW generation range for the 6 countries: 0.79 - 1.80 kg/person/day; plastic content 12%.).

Total visitors (cruise + overnighters): 4.2 million.

Average expenditure per visitor: USD 2,812.

Total cost to collect 100% of plastic waste (@USD 2 / kg): USD 70.7 million. (Assumes 0% recycling)

Total cost per visitor: USD 16.83 

Thus 100% collection can be achieved if we can convince each visitor to buy CC to the level of 16.83 dollars, equivalent to 0.6% of their vacation spend.

Note that the system works even if only a small fraction visitors contribute. 

We are a small, new and virtually unknown group with big ideas but no track record. In fact we don’t technically qualify to be a part of this challenge as we are not officially registered yet (Canadian NGO registration will occur this spring). Nor do we have a physical prototype of our technology. Pending a relaxation of your clearly stated rules, we fully expect to be disqualified. (We wish you had run the contest 6 months later.) 

So why are we applying?

Because it’s important for these ideas to get out in the real world. We are moving forward with our plans. The support, expertise and imprimatur of the IDB (whether in conjunction with this challenge or not) would greatly facilitate the rapid development of our system. Perhaps someone reading this (from the bank or otherwise) can see the potential, and is willing to reach out. If so, I’m here:  hagesensei2@gmail.com

The Royal Bank of Canada has a significant presence in the Caribbean. They would facilitate the creation of, and direct deposit into the bank accounts of collectors. We would also use them to mediate a partnership with The Canadian Bank Note Company for the production of the CC.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd would provide marketing and sales venues for the CC.

Partnerships with municipal governments would be required to ensure goals are aligned.

REFERENCES 

OECS Commission. 2017. Final Report: Child Poverty in the Eastern Caribbean Area.

UNICEF. 2019. Caribbean Children Facing the Climate Crisis.

IDB. 2019. Caribbean Region Quarterly Bulletin. March 2019

OECD. 2019. The Caribbean small states. ch6 in Latin American Economic Outlook.

WB. 2018. Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Systematic Regional Diagnostic. 

ECLAC. 2019. Preliminary overview of the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean.

ECLAC. 2019. Synthesis of the Caribbean subregion midterm review report of the Small Island Developing States ( SIDS ) Accelerated Modalities of Action ( SAMOA ) Pathway.

UNEP. 2018. Waste Management Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean.

ECLAC. 2018. Caribbean regional report on the mid-term review of SIDS accelerated modalities of action