Ecovidrio is a non-profit organization responsible for managing glass packaging waste recycling in Spain. They started in 1998 as an initiative by the glass packaging industry to efficiently and sustainably manage glass recycling.
This open innovation challenge is a strategic initiative that gives engineers and companies the opportunity to collaborate with Ecovidrio to evolve the current tipping system and therefore increase glass collection rates in the HORECA channel.
As of today, glass is stored by the staff in trash bins Inside bars and restaurants that are later emptied into big containers placed on the streets.
Some trash bins are difficult to handle due to their weight (e.g. 120L bins can weigh up to 40 kg) and sometimes cause glass and liquids to fall into the street. All this makes glass collection less efficient, creating a barrier to recycling, increasing occupational hazards and finding not suitable items in the containers (plastic bags, etc.).
To find solutions, Ecovidrio partnered with ennomotive, the open innovation platform specialized in solving engineering challenges. Through this platform, any person or entity will be able to register and submit any of these two options:
- A new assisted tipping system that allows easy, fast and safe emptying of bins into containers.
- A more global solution including maybe a new ‘bin’ for storing the glass on the premises, transporting it and unloading it into the container.
Participation is open to engineering professionals, but also to companies, tech centres and start-ups and academia – individually or in teams – who want to propose solutions to this challenge.
Ecovidrio offers an immediate reward of EUR 5,000, to be shared among the participants that submit the best solutions, and an additional EUR 10,000 for the challenge winner to get on and support Ecovidrio during a later prototyping phase.
Those interested in participating should sign up for the challenge, download detailed information and submit their solution by July 24, 2024.