PLASTIC POSTS FOR AGRICULTURE AND VITICULTURE

The central issue we are addressing is the need for sustainable and long-lasting infrastructure in agricultural settings, while also tackling the challenge of plastic waste.

In just Mendoza, Argentina, one of the international capitals of wine, over 5 million wooden posts are used annually to replace broken posts in vineyard infrastructure. Out of these 5 million, about 250 posts come from slow-growing native forests that cannot be replenished.

Wooden posts, widely used in these industries, not only contribute to deforestation but also have a limited lifespan, resulting in continuous environmental degradation and high costs for farmers. Locally, in agricultural communities, there is a significant demand for eco-friendly and durable alternatives to wooden posts, as farmers seek solutions that not only last longer but also align with their environmental values.

The issue extends globally, affecting regions where agriculture and viticulture are prevalent. Deforestation for wooden post production contributes to habitat loss, declining biodiversity, and carbon emissions. Simultaneously, the massive generation of plastic waste poses a significant environmental challenge. In Argentina, 7,500 tons of plastic waste are generated per person per day, of which only 13% is managed, underscoring the urgency of addressing the plastic waste problem.

The production of plastic posts from 100% recycled and recyclable materials directly addresses these challenges by mitigating the environmental impact of traditional wooden posts and providing a durable and sustainable alternative. Furthermore, our product's recyclability ensures that it can be reused or recycled at the end of its life cycle, reducing waste and promoting a circular economy.

Statistics support the magnitude of the problem. Deforestation accounts for approximately 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with a significant portion attributed to the timber industry. The use of plastic posts made from recycled materials significantly reduces the carbon footprint associated with traditional wooden posts, as indicated by life cycle studies.

By addressing these factors and providing a sustainable solution, our initiative meets the immediate needs of agricultural and viticultural communities while contributing to global efforts towards environmental conservation and sustainable development.

Our solution involves the manufacturing of posts for agricultural and viticulture purposes using plastic lumber, which is a material made entirely from recycled plastic. These posts are designed to replace traditional wooden posts in agricultural environments.

Plastic lumber posts offer several advantages: they are durable, weather-resistant, and do not rot or deteriorate over time like traditional wood. Additionally, being made from recycled plastic, they help reduce deforestation and plastic waste by utilizing materials that would otherwise end up in landfills.

The manufacturing process involves mechanical recycling, which entails the crushing and melting of recycled plastic to form new posts. Extrusion molding technologies are used to shape the melted plastic into the desired form of the posts. This process consumes less energy, water, and resources compared to the production of traditional wooden posts, making it more environmentally sustainable.

Our solution provides an ecological and durable alternative to traditional wooden posts, using recycled plastic to manufacture sturdy and long-lasting posts for use in agriculture and viticulture.

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The target population consists of farmers who rely on posts to support their crops. These producers currently face several challenges with traditional wooden posts.

Firstly, the durability of wooden posts is limited, meaning farmers must regularly replace them, leading to additional costs and logistical management. Additionally, traditional wood is subject to degradation from weather and biological conditions, requiring constant maintenance and potentially affecting the integrity of support structures.

The solution addresses these needs by providing recycled plastic posts that are highly durable and weather-resistant. These posts offer a low-maintenance solution as they do not rot, crack, or deform like traditional wood. By offering a more durable and reliable alternative, we help farmers reduce long-term costs associated with post replacement and maintenance while ensuring the safety and stability of their crops.

Furthermore, by using recycled plastic, our solution addresses environmental concerns by reducing deforestation, particularly of slow-growing native forests highly sought after for their hardness and durability of wood. We also utilize materials and plastic waste that would otherwise be discarded and end up in landfills. Essentially, we are recycling a type of plastic that nobody wants. This resonates with the growing environmental awareness among farmers who seek to adopt more sustainable practices.

We are Carlos, Pio, and Leo, founding partners of the company. As natives of Mendoza, we have a deep connection with the communities where we live and work.

With over 15 years of experience working together as commercial executives for major clients in a multinational company, we have built strong relationships and a solid understanding of local needs. From the inception of our project, we have been firmly committed to our goals and have maintained a clear focus at all times.

Our experience in business and customer service has helped us establish strong relationships with the entrepreneurial community, government, and organizations. We have actively trained ourselves in areas of impact and innovation to ensure that our actions are aligned with waste mitigation and carbon footprint reduction.

Furthermore, we recognize that our main strength lies in our ability to build connections and coordinate efforts. We have formed strategic partnerships with municipalities, companies, and NGOs committed to plastic waste mitigation and climate change. These collaborations have allowed us to create a robust network that facilitates the recovery of tons of plastic waste and promotes sustainable initiatives in our communities aligned with SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals).

In particular, we have established a significant collaboration with the municipality of Junín, in Mendoza, where we recycle the plastic produced by 25,000 people per day. We have signed a 10-year collaboration agreement with the municipality, demonstrating our long-term commitment to sustainable development and improving living conditions in our community.

Our closeness with local communities is reflected in the design and implementation of our solution as it is a product with significant environmental and economic impact in one of the main local activities. We have actively integrated the ideas, opinions, and agendas of the community into our decision-making process, ensuring that our solution is truly relevant, beneficial, and impactful.

Some of our figures:

We have achieved a daily recovery of 3000 kg of plastic waste, 60,000 kg monthly of single-use and difficult-to-dispose-of waste, which we have prevented from reaching landfills or dumpsites, making them unrecoverable.

Our posts for vineyards and fields have been tested by over 300 clients, successfully replacing over 120,000 wooden posts, equivalent to more than 30,000 trees.

We have established collaboration agreements with 10 out of 18 municipalities in the Province of Mendoza, Argentina, ensuring that tons of plastic waste are processed in our facility.

We process 100% of the waste generated in the "Bottles of Love" campaign in the Province of Mendoza.

We work in collaboration and purchase discarded plastic waste recovered by 5 urban waste collector cooperatives in the Province of Mendoza.

Our products are marketed in different provinces of Argentina.

We have succeeded in having the Argentine Wine Observatory incorporate plastic posts as one of the 3 alternatives for measuring carbon footprint.

Our posts are exhibited in the Enoteca of the city of Mendoza and in the headquarters of the National Institute of Viticulture (INV), as examples of innovation and sustainability.

We have received various provincial, national, and international recognitions, such as:

- Recognized in 2021 by the Argentine Network of the Global Compact, under the United Nations, as one of the 7 companies in Argentina distinguished for their good practices in Circular Economy.

- Recognized in 2022 by the CEM (Mendocino Business Council) in the Leadership, Commitments, Innovation, and Achievements in Environmental, Social, and Economic Sustainability category.

- Recognized in 2019/2022 by the consulting firm Quinto Impacto as one of the 10 Most Beloved Companies in Mendoza.

- Awarded in 2019 as one of the 3 most socially innovative companies in Argentina by the Transforming Minds contest.

- Awarded in 2019 as "Young Mendocino Entrepreneur" and "Young Argentine Entrepreneur of the Year" with honorable mention for social impact by CAMEJoven and the Argentine Economic Federation.

- Awarded as a TRIPLE IMPACT COMPANY 2021 by the AEM. Mendoza Executives Association.

We have participated in various MIT challenges because we understand the importance and prestige of MIT SOLVE. We have the knowledge, willingness, experience, and ideas to recover and transform large amounts of plastic waste, not only from our country but from different communities.

The work we do can be replicated and developed to use plastic waste as an alternative to wood and to strengthen vulnerable communities. Our posts can be used in different projects, not only agricultural but also urban, construction, and regenerative projects, thus avoiding deforestation and the use of wood for human purposes.

The most significant barrier is raising awareness about our work and being able to scale it to a more industrial production level and recycle a larger amount of plastic waste.

Being recognized by MIT Solve can give us the visibility needed to reach the right people or institutions to scale up, technify, and make our work more efficient. We have a lot of willingness and strength to work; WE NEED HELP TO GENERATE MORE IMPACT.

Our solution addresses the problem in an innovative way by offering a sustainable and durable alternative to traditional wooden posts through the use of plastic lumber made from 100% recycled and recyclable plastic.

This alternative represents a significant improvement over conventional methods as it combines the durability and strength of plastic with the utilization of recycled materials, thus reducing the demand for wood, especially from native forests, which are often illegally sourced and cause irreparable damage.

Our solution not only seeks to solve the direct problem of deforestation and plastic waste but also has the potential to catalyze broader positive impacts in the space. By promoting the use of recycled materials in the manufacturing of agricultural products, we can inspire others in the industry, such as wineries, producers, and suppliers, to adopt more sustainable and responsible practices.

This innovative approach could change the market and industry landscape by introducing a new sustainability standard in the production of agricultural and viticultural infrastructure. It could create greater demand for products made from recycled materials, which in turn could stimulate investment in recycling technologies and job creation in the green sector. Currently, we directly employ 15 people from the community where we operate.

Additionally, by establishing partnerships with municipalities, companies, and NGOs committed to plastic waste mitigation and climate change, our solution drives broader and more coordinated collaboration in the fight against these environmental challenges. This fosters joint initiatives for waste management, environmental education, and the promotion of the circular economy in our communities.

Our solution not only represents a significant improvement in how the problem of deforestation and plastic waste is addressed in the agricultural and viticultural industry but also has the potential to catalyze broader positive changes in the market and environmental landscape by promoting more sustainable and responsible practices.

Our solution has a direct and significant impact on the problem by addressing deforestation and plastic waste in an innovative and effective manner. We started our venture in a context where there was a lot of talk about the issue of single-use plastics, but there were few concrete actions related to plastic waste recycling.

To address this issue and increase recycling in households, we implemented a program that had been successful in other Latin American countries called "Botellas de Amor" (Bottles of Love), which encourages household recycling by filling plastic bottles with all flexible and single-use plastics. These bottles, which would otherwise end up in landfills, are collected and recycled in our company. Thanks to this program, we have managed to incorporate source separation at home, thereby increasing the recycling rate and reducing the amount of plastic waste that reaches landfills.

Additionally, we have actively worked to spread our model and raise awareness in the community about the importance of recycling. We participate in talks, courses, seminars, and conferences where we share our work and the positive impact it has on the environment. As references, we mention our participation as speakers at the World Circular Economy Summit 2022. We were invited representing entrepreneurs and the private sector by UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) to participate in dialogues to outline actions that led Argentina to the Stockholm summit commemorating the 50 years since the declaration of the Human Environment in 1972.

Regarding our specific solution of recycled plastic posts for viticulture, we have succeeded in having it recognized as a valid alternative by the Argentine Wine Observatory. This means that farmers and vineyard owners can now choose to use our posts, reducing their dependence on traditional wood and contributing to the conservation of forest resources.

Our solution addresses the problem through the implementation of innovative recycling programs, community awareness, and the creation of sustainable alternatives in key sectors such as viticulture. These actions are directly linked to the reduction of deforestation, plastic waste, and the promotion of more sustainable practices in our community.

Our impact objectives for our solution are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically with SDGs 9, 11, 12, 13, and 17. These goals guide all aspects of our work and reflect our commitment to creating transformative impact on people's lives and the environment.

SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: Our goal is to promote innovation in the agricultural and viticultural industry by offering a sustainable and durable alternative to traditional wooden posts. We measure our progress by the increase in the adoption of recycled plastic posts instead of wooden posts in the industry.

SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities: We aim to contribute to more sustainable communities by promoting recycling practices and waste reduction through our "Bottles of Love" program. We measure our impact by the increase in the amount of recycled plastic waste and the number of communities participating in the program.

SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production: Our goal is to promote a more responsible model of production and consumption by using recycled materials. We measure our progress by the amount of recycled plastic used in post production and the reduction in wood consumption.

SDG 13 - Climate Action: We are committed to mitigating climate change by reducing deforestation and plastic waste. We measure our impact by the reduction in carbon emissions associated with the production and disposal of wooden posts, as well as the increase in the amount of recycled plastic used. Therefore, we conducted a life cycle assessment of our posts which showed an environmental saving of over 22%.

SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals: Our goal is to strengthen partnerships with governments, businesses, and NGOs to promote scalable and sustainable practices. We measure our impact by the number of partnerships established and the collective impact generated in the community.

Our approach to measuring progress towards our impact objectives includes indicators such as the adoption of recycled plastic posts, the amount of recycled plastic used, the reduction in deforestation, and the number of partnerships established. These indicators allow us to assess our impact on the industry, the environment, and local communities, and to adjust our strategies as necessary to achieve significant and transformative results.

The core technology driving our solution is a combination of several innovative and sustainable elements. Firstly, we utilize recycled machinery from the plastic and viticultural industries to produce our recycled plastic posts. This adapted machinery allows us to efficiently transform recycled materials into durable and high-quality posts.

We employ injection molding and extrusion technologies to shape the recycled plastic into the desired form of the posts. These technologies, readily available in most countries and relatively easy to acquire, enable us to produce consistent and high-quality posts efficiently, cost-effectively, and at scale.

We leverage social media networks and generate content to raise awareness about the issues of deforestation and plastic waste. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn are utilized to disseminate information about the environmental impacts of our products and promote practices of responsible consumption.

In summary, our solution is based on the use of modern and adapted technology, as well as active promotion on social networks, and the combination of ancestral and technological knowledge to comprehensively address the issues of deforestation and plastic waste.

3 -Full-time Directors
15 -Full-time Machinery Operators
1 -Full-time Operations Manager
5 -Maintenance Staff - Full-time contracted
1 -Communication Personnel - Part-time contracted
1 -Safety and Hygiene Personnel - Part-time contracted

We have been working on our solution since 2018.
We have been tirelessly working towards our purpose for 6 years.

Our team is comprised of individuals from diverse religions, social classes, and educational backgrounds.

Our business model is based on addressing two significant challenges: the lack of proper treatment of a specific type of plastic waste and the need for sustainable infrastructure in various industries. We focus on recycling a type of plastic waste that currently lacks proper treatment in the industry, allowing us to obtain large quantities of this material that would otherwise be disposed of in landfills.

We process this plastic waste and transform it into a variety of products, including posts and profiles intended for different applications such as agriculture, viticulture, furniture construction, signage, and sustainable deck flooring. These products offer a durable and sustainable alternative to traditional options, meeting the needs of our customers and beneficiaries.

Our main clients are municipalities, companies, organizations, and individuals committed to the environment. We establish collaboration agreements with them to recover significant amounts of plastic waste that would otherwise end up in landfills, and we transform them into new products such as plastic posts. Additionally, we commit to purchasing plastic waste only from formalized urban recovery cooperatives, which helps to avoid child labor, informal, or precarious work in waste management.

Our business model creates value by addressing the issue of inadequate treatment of plastic waste and by offering sustainable, high-quality products that meet the needs of our customers and beneficiaries. At the same time, we foster collaboration with various stakeholders to promote environmentally responsible practices and generate a positive impact in our communities.

Our plan to achieve financial sustainability is based on a combination of revenue generated from product sales, investments from the founding partners, initial support through seed credit funds, and non-refundable contributions granted by the provincial government to acquire machinery and make improvements. From the beginning of our venture, we have worked to balance our income and expenses, allowing us to achieve financial self-sufficiency.

To date, we have managed to remain self-sufficient and generate sufficient income to cover all operating expenses and make investments in improvements to increase the efficiency and processing capacity of plastic waste. Our revenue evolution has been consistent and steadily increasing, reflecting the growth and acceptance of our product and proposal in the market.

For example, in 2019, the year we started commercializing the posts, we generated annual income totaling USD 1,800, and in 2020, our sales due to the pandemic were only USD 650 (but we didn't give up). Since then, we have experienced significant growth:

- In 2021, we reached an annual turnover of USD 12,000.
- For 2022, we managed to generate USD 31,500 in revenue.
- In 2023, our turnover increased to USD 82,600.
- In the first quarter of 2024, we have reached revenues of USD 32,000.

These data demonstrate that our business model is robust and generating positive financial results. Furthermore, our ability to remain self-sufficient and continue growing indicates that we are on track to achieve long-term financial sustainability.