Circular Economy Hackathon - 4 Innovative Ideas
Long before the famous song – The Circle of Life – from the movie, the Lion King, set everyone pondering over this philosophical question, eminent thinkers and economists tinkered with this idea of “closed loops” for containing the effects of unrestrained human consumption on our ecology and economy.
Circular
Economy, a sustainability model, propounded by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation,
is making world leaders take note of the need for re-X (re-use, re-make,
re-cycle, etc.). Although the foundation has been advocating the cause in the
last decade, the concept of circularity has been around for quite some time. In
the 1960s, Kenneth Boulding presented the concept with different terminology.
Walter Stahel’s work, a decade later, also provided another perspective on this
topic of sustainability. However, it is to the credit of the Ellen MacArthur
Foundation’s sustained
efforts that a lot of interest and meaningful engagement has happened in recent
years to action sustainability through implementations of a circular economy.
While the
linear economy generates more waste due to its “take, make, dispose of”
paradigm, a circular economy promotes waste-reduction by extending the
effective life of a product. The output from one process feeds in as the input
of another, thus considerably reducing waste.
The fact that a
Circular Economy wave is sweeping the globe is evident in the active pursuit of
programs aimed at implementing some form of re-X. In this context, India and
Australia collaborated in conducting a Circular Economy
Hackathon that aimed at
rewarding thought leaders from industry and academia across both of these
participating nations. The Hackathon, jointly organized by the Atal Innovation
Mission and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization,
witnessed enthusiastic participation. Winners were announced in four different
categories. It is interesting to note that more than 1000 teams participated in
this event.
We should
encourage initiatives like this where bright minds come together to solve
complex issues plaguing the entire world.
- An “Eco Dabba” that wraps your take-away meals
in a 90% bio-degradable wrap is a great idea.
- B2B
apps for global sourcing of eco-friendly packaging products is a huge
initiative.
- Picking,
Packing, and sorting e-waste by a robot is a welcome change.
- Smart
trash bins that qualify the kind of waste they accept is out-of-the-box
thinking at its best.
There were many
more innovative ideas that popped up in the hackathon. A sensor to track the
temperature and other vital conditions for a Covid-19 vaccine transporter truly
demonstrated the kind of research commitment that events like this Hackathon
foster.
When nations
start coming together for collaborating on initiatives like this, a huge
impetus is provided to a great cause. India-Australia Circular Economy (I-ACE)
Hackathon 2021 has opened up the gates for dedicated research in solving global
challenges in food, packaging, plastic, and electronic waste. Additional
assistance provided by the respective Governments will lead to a greater inflow
of much-needed funds required for some of the ideas to take concrete shape.
Here’s hoping that our ecology comes full circle. We will be eagerly covering
this critical initiative which has a tremendous impact on our future.
You can get
more information on Circular Economy here: SAP Insights