詹妮弗·k·森田著

2023年2月1日

Innovators with ideas for turning waste into marketable products can compete for $20,000 in a new pitch competition put on by the Carlsen中心 for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at 萨克拉门托 State and the Western Placer Waste Management Authority (WPWMA).

The 循环经济创新大赛 aims to find innovations and technologies that will reduce landfill waste and greenhouse emissions by repurposing materials people throw away.

“The idea is to work with either existing operations or new entrepreneurs to find ready uses for some of the products we can pull out of our waste stream,” WPWMA Program Manager Eric Oddo said. “Hopefully, we can identify new markets and new technologies for materials that historically have not had a market value.”

WPWMA将提供2万美元的现金奖励，而卡尔森中心将为试点新技术、研究或业务提供指导机会。

“Some of the ideas may be newer concepts that need to be tested and validated,” Carlsen中心 Executive Director Cameron Law said. “The pitch competition provides a cash award to explore these ideas and also potentially the space to pilot those innovations, which will hopefully lead to a lasting partnership.”

The WPWMA serves about 400,000 customers in unincorporated Placer County as well as the cities of Roseville, Lincoln, and Rocklin. 与许多机构不同，WPWMA没有预先设置回收系统，客户可以使用蓝色垃圾箱对自己的垃圾进行分类。

“There’s a lot of interest in figuring out how to use and manage our resources more sensitively and more economically and to localize some of these opportunities.” -- Eric Oddo, Western Placer Waste Management Authority program manager

相反，它经营着一个材料回收设施，或MRF，在那里可以回收或堆肥的物品从混合废物中转移出来。 Whatever can’t be used is sent to the agency’s landfill.

“Everything is in one stream, which affords us the opportunity to mine waste for whatever products we can find that are of value,” Oddo said.

但在动荡的国际市场上，为可回收材料寻找买家变得越来越困难。

几十年来，美国将其可回收材料运往中国等国家。 然而，当中国对包括混合纸和塑料在内的可回收物实施限制后，这个市场关闭了。

“We’ve learned over time that what we’re able to recycle is predicated on what we’re able to market,” Oddo said. “If we can have those end markets right next to us, it improves the financial picture considerably because it takes transportation out of the mix.

“It also creates stability to have a local market for our products.”

A growing number of businesses are moving toward a “circular economy” model, pitch organizers said, a model that goes beyond recycling and focuses on how goods can be designed, produced and delivered in a way that limits the impact on the environment.

循环经济也意味着增加收入。 例如，一个地方或区域市场的可回收材料意味着更少的卡车在路上，降低运输成本。

“Consumers are more and more conscious of the goods they’re purchasing and the environmental impacts they have,” Law said. “If some of the raw materials are cheaper than buying other materials, that’s obviously an economic advantage to the entrepreneur as well.”

WPWMA为公司测试新兴技术提供了土地和基础设施，并且已经与企业合作进行了利用木材废料生产生物油和生物炭的试点研究。

“This is all very fresh, but we’re starting to see a lot of traction in this area,” Oddo said. “There’s a lot of interest in figuring out how to use and manage our resources more sensitively and more economically and to localize some of these opportunities.”

卡尔森中心和WPWMA将亚利桑那州立大学和凤凰城之间的循环经济孵化器合作作为新场地竞赛的典范。 

The WPWMA facilities are located less than a mile from the future site of Placer Center, 囊状态’s planned satellite campus in Placer County.

“There’s a natural connection, especially from a research standpoint, but also attracting innovations and entrepreneurs to the campus,” Law said.

“The vision is to be a hub for circular economy activity … We look forward to continuing to grow our partnership and hopefully create jobs while looking to solve the problems around waste and making a greater environmental impact in a positive way.”

The deadline to 博彩平台 for the 循环经济创新大赛 is 11:59 p.m. 2月10日。 将选出12至16名半决赛选手，并要求他们提交一段视频。 4月19日，8名决赛选手将亲自参加比赛。

“I’m very excited about the energy the Carlsen中心 has brought to this concept, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the pitch competition,” Oddo said. “I know the future is extremely bright for this region and for the environment.”