Green Planet - Reimagining waste

 1. We have developed a patented, technology that enables conversion of plastic waste to oil to value-added chemicals.

2. We have narrowed our focus to making biodegradable surfactants (soaps); which are applicable in varied industries 

3. The soap industry is a 24 million ton per annum industry which is largely dependent on fossil fuel sources. Our aim is to replace some of that resource with plastic waste which will reduce dependence on fossil fuels as well as reduce the plastic waste foot print.

4. The soaps that we produce are biodegradable hence for the first time we have a process using which plastics can be completely removed from the environment.

5.  We partner with plastic to fuel convertors and then further purify and derivatize the plastic-oil to develop soaps

6. Our revenue model includes a 30-50% cheaper source of raw materials versus crude oil sources + sales at 25% higher per unit of soap (unique value proposition)

Today there is a huge pressure on organizations to reduce their plastic  waste footprint given the global targets set by governmental organizations and WHO to address the plastic waste challenge as below

- More than 7 billion tonnes of plastic waste exists on our planet as per a BBC report of which 5.6 million tonnes are generated in India per annum.

- There is a mandate to reduce marine plastic debris by 70% by 2025

-  A target to recycle 5.4 million tonnes of plastic waste by 2025

We offer technology solutions that would enable conversion of plastic waste in to value added, biodegradable surfactant analogs thus cleaning the planet of its plastic on one hand and reducing your dependence on the planet’s depleting resources on the other. We work with plastics to oil convertors and NGOs thus enabling provision of livelihood to rag-pickers

Our aim is to develop scalable technologies using which plastic waste in landfills and water bodies can be permanently removed from the environment

To achieve this we are working along with the city of Bangalore (India) to identify key areas where plastic waste collection facilities will have to be deployed in order to address the widespread plastic waste issue. Once this is identified we work with NGOs who employ rag-pickers to collect this waste and segregate it thus providing the rag-pickers with a source of livelihood.

These sorted plastics reach our labs where they are converted in to plastic oil through a patented and energy efficient technology. This oil is now an alternative to fossil-fuel sources which is a depleting resource for production of soaps (24 million ton per annum industry). We now use plastic waste oil and convert them to soaps using chemical methods. Soaps are our focus area since they can biodegrade after use and hence the plastic waste is converted into a form which can be permanently removed from the environment

We address the plastic waste challenge by using

1. Our network with the city municipality to enable deployment of waste collection activities. Further we engage with NGOs who employ rag-pickers to collect and segregate plastic waste thus providing them with a source of livelihood

2. Our ties with plastic to oil converting partners who use the plastic waste and convert it to oil that is comparable to fossil fuel. Since fossil fuel is a depleting resource; alternatives to it are welcome and in this case we are on one hand reducing the plastic waste footprint and on the other hand converting it to fossil-fuel analogs thus reducing dependence on depleting resources

3. Our expertise in chemistry to convert this oil in to biodegradable surfactants using scalable methods so that the plastics are permanently removed from the environment after their use. The surfactant industry is a 24 million ton per annum industry and is set to grow by 4.25% over the next 5 years. Given the conversion efficiency of plastic waste to surfactants; if we were to capture 0.5% of the market growth with our technology then in 5 years we would be able to permanently remove 5 million tons of plastic waste from the environment by converting them to surfactants (soaps) that biodegrade in to carbon dioxide and water

The technology developed by our team for the first time enables conversion of plastic waste to a form where is can biodegrade in to carbon dioxide and waste and be permanently removed from the environment. Give the growth of the 24 million ton per annum surfactant market by 4.25% in the next 5 years; if we were to capture 0.5% of that growth market then based on plastic to surfactant conversion efficiencies we would remove about 3 million tons of plastic waste permanently from the planet.

Additionally, our technology uses plastic waste as an alternative to the depleting fossil fuel which is today used as the only resource to produce surfactants

The technology that we have developed uses a combination of pyrolysis and chemical conversion technologies which have been optimized using hundreds of experiments so that the conversion efficiency of plastic waste to surfactant is maximized. Based on market projections the 24 million ton per annum surfactant industry is set to grow by 4,25% in the next five years. If we capture 0.5% of that market then we would be able to convert 3 million tonnes of plastic waste to surfactants which can be permanently removed from the environment by biodegradation to carbon dioxide and water post their use in detergent formulations.

The primary communities to benefit from this are

- Rural and urban municipal communities in and around Bangalore where plastic waste accumulation is a problem. We are partnering with the city of Bangalore to address this problem by working with NGOs who can help collection and segregation of plastic waste

- NGOs employ rag-pickers to collect and segregate waste hence providing livelihood to around 100 people as of today

- The surfactant industry has a huge burden on it to reduce dependence on fossil fuel as a resource and our technology would provide a direct, drop-in solution

1. Currently our technology is being deployed in a municipality in rural Bangalore. We work with NGOs who have employed 100 rag-pickers to help us collect and segregate plastic waste in this area.

2. In one year we hope to extend the technology wider across Bangalore and begin to serve multiple municipalities. We expect the number of rag-pickers employed to grow proportionately

3. In five years' time, once the technology has been established, we would like to extend the scope globally (outside of India) as well. The number of people to be served is not calculable at the moment

Environmental impact - Based on the estimated 4,25% growth potential of the 24 million ton per annum surfactant industry; we expect to be able to capture 0.5% of the growth market over the next five years. Taking plastic to surfactant conversion efficiencies in to account we would be able to convert 3 million tonnes of plastic waste in to carbon dioxide and water, thus permanently removing them from the environment

Social - Since we partner with NGOs who employ rag-pickers we see a direct impact of our technology on livelihoods, which is expected to scale further as we increase the size of our operations

Economical - the cost of plastic waste oil is 30% cheaper than fossil fuel oil. In addition the final surfactants can be sold at a 20-25% premium given the unique value-proposition.

Next year - Within a years' time we hope to set-up a 1 Ton per day pilot plant which will enable conversion of plastic waste to oil, and further fractionate it to extract relevant components. these will be derivatized at select manufacturing facilities to develop surfactants.

Five years - In five years' time we would like to set up commercial operations that would enable us to set up a sustainable supply chain for plastic waste based surfactants. We would like to widen the scope of our activities outside of India as well, including the first step of setting up waste-collection centers in collaboration with local NGOs

The biggest barrier that we face at the moment is a financial one. We possess a tested and patented technology and it's scalability is heavily dependent on finances

We are reaching out to government bodies so that we can work in collaboration with them to address the plastic waste challenge. We are also participating in grant competitions to enable us to fund our venture

We would like to work with local NGOs in the area to collect waste from landfills and water bodies and use that as our primary resource. We could either operate the further steps if waste conversion to value-added surfactants, from out plant in India or work with the local government to enable us to set up a pilot plant in Latin America

We are a core team of 4 members and extended (contract) R&D staff of 10 people along with the leveraged headcount from NGOs for rag-picking and segregation of 100 people

We possess the correct combination of subject matter expertise (PhDs in material science, polymer science and MBA) and experience (a collective experience of 70 years). Our team also possesses experience in setting up and successfully running start-ups. Also we have a strong network amongst ourselves which allows us to leverage connections as required to progress the technology

We intend to partner with

- Government bodies, such as, municipalities

- Waste to oil converting partners

- NGOs who enable waste collection and segregation

Financial model - The key customers for the technology being developed would be the surfactant industry who are currently under huge pressure to reduce dependence on fossil fuel based surfactants. Some examples are, Body Shop, Ecover, Charlies' soap etc. The 24 million industry is to grow by 4.25% in the next five years and we expect to capture 0.5% of that market given the huge interest that we have seen from surfactant manufacturers and final brand end-users. There have been several market studies that have indicated that sustainable brands tend to grow 33% faster than ones that are not and we would partner with both the surfactant manufacturers as well as the final brands to enable them to meet their CSR goals

Impact - given that we would be converting plastic waste to biodegradable surfactants and given the growth volumes above, we expect to be able to convert 3 million tonnes of plastic waste in carbon dioxide and water over the next 5 years thus permanently removing them from the environment

In the first two years we would depend on government funding, funds from grant applications and also any venture funding to enable us to set-up our capabilities (ie, the pilot plant). At this phase we are also open to work on a licensing model where we could identify T&Cs to license out a portion of the technology to interested end users (certain surfactant lines)

Over 3-5 year timeline, we would like to set up a sustainable supply chain of surfactants produced from plastic waste and supply this to both surfactant manufacturers as well as final brand owners based on the ways of working.

Our biggest barrier at the moment is a financial one and any financial aid which would enable us to set-up our initial pilot plant would be very welcome. If we are selected for this application and receive funds we would use it to set-up the plant and develop pilot scale volumes of biodegradable surfactants using collected plastic waste. We are not limited to our current geography and are capable of deploying this technology globally

1. NGOs who would enable us to set up wider waste collection capabilities

2. Plastic to oil conversion partners who would provide us with the feedstock for our process

3. Government bodies so that we can work on collaboration to solve the plastic waste challenge

4. Surfactant manufacturers and brand owners who are interested in our technology, so that we can work in close alignment knowing the end-user requirements