This year’s European Social Innovation Competition has looked for projects that offer fresh thinking on how to deal with Plastic Waste. 543 entrepreneurs applied to take part in the Competition and now a Judging Panel of independent experts has narrowed these down to 10 highly promising social innovation projects. The finalists offer diverse solutions, from new materials to circular distribution systems and the three winners are set to be announced at an award ceremony in Brussels on the 24th of October.
The event will offer the chance to meet the 10 finalists and learn about their projects, as well as to hear from experts in both social innovation and sustainability. Registrations are open here.
The ten projects in the running for three €50,000 prizes are:
- Apaga (Armenia) – A recycling reward programme based on a digital platform to foster community, education and commitment.
- Empower (Norway) –A digital plastic waste collection system, through which plastic waste can be deposited for a financial reward.
- LAM’ON (Bulgaria) – A 100% biodegradable laminating film made from renewable resources to seal and preserve printed materials.
- Luft parcel (United Kingdom) – A returnable parcel enabling online retailers to eliminate single use plastic and other packaging materials for postal deliveries to customers.
- MIWA (Czech Republic) – An innovative, financially sustainable circular distribution and sale system for food and non-food products with reusable packaging.
- ReciclaGaMe (Italy) – A bio-conversion, self-sufficient system that converts plastic into a sustainable silk material.
- ReFeel Good (Portugal) – A delivery refill system for laundry & home care products.
- RIS (Slovenia) – Water-soluble shampoo marbles made with natural ingredients.
- SpraySafe (Portugal) – An edible spray used on the surface of foods to preserve them, reducing the need for plastic wrapping and containers.
- VEnvirotech (Spain) – A biotechnological startup that transforms organic waste into biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics using bacteria.
The European Social Innovation Competition – a springboard for innovative ideas
In July, the Semi-Finalists from this year’s Competition took part in a 3-day residential Academy in Turin. During the event, the participants had the chance to learn from industry leaders about how to grow their business in a sustainable way. This support continued following the Academy as the Semi-Finalists worked with expert coaches and communications specialists, to hone their ideas.
Each year, the Competition tackles a new challenge and next year’s theme is due to be announced in early 2020. You can follow all the latest news here, or directly register for the Awards Ceremony here.
