Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on innovative solutions for smart cities. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we decided to share our insights with you. This time, we are taking a look at 5 promising zero waste solutions.
Heat Map: 5 Top Zero Waste Solutions
Using our StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 1.379.000+ startups & scaleups globally, we looked at innovation in the field of smart cities. For this research, we identified 348 relevant solutions and picked 5 to showcase below. These companies were chosen based on a data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and relevance of technology, among others. Depending on your specific criteria, the top picks might look entirely different.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 startups & scaleups developing innovative zero waste solutions. Moreover, the Heat Map reveals regions that observe a high startup activity and illustrates the geographic distribution of all 348 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
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Zwoice – Zero Waste Online Marketplace
With the advent of the internet, e-commerce and online shopping have become some of the most convenient ways to buy and sell all kinds of goods and services. The consumer goods industry has also been quick in leveraging e-commerce platforms to its advantage. However, the amount of waste generated from packaging and logistics has an adverse impact on the environment. Startups and scaleups offer online platforms where customers choose and buy products that generate low or no waste.
The Luxembourg-based startup Zwoice offers an online marketplace for zero waste products. The startup combines zero waste values with ethical and cruelty-free manufacturing practices. Consumers get to experience a unique online shopping platform that also positively contributes to the environment.
Go Zero Waste – Zero Waste Economy
In addition to online zero waste marketplaces, customers also want to adopt zero waste practices in many facets of their lives. For example, dining out in a zero waste restaurant or choosing retailers who use sustainable alternatives for plastic packaging. Increased public awareness of plastic pollution encourages startups to develop solutions that incorporate zero waste concepts into their products and services.
Spanish startup Go Zero Waste develops its Go Zero Waste mobile application to enable users to identify retails stores that are plastic-free and embrace the zero waste lifestyle. The mobile app assists the users in getting acclimated to the new lifestyle with small doses of sustainable habits. This further helps nudge its users to implement more sustainable practices.
Evanescence Packaging Solutions – Sustainable Packaging
The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry utilizes a significant amount of packaging material for their products and this directly results in an increase in waste generation. Many FMCG companies have made a sustainable packaging pledge to counter the effects of non-biodegradable waste. In order to fight plastic pollution, startups develop sustainable alternatives to plastic packaging with the help of natural materials.
Canadian startup Evanescence Packaging Solutions produces biodegradable and compostable food packaging that decomposes in under 90 days. The startup uses renewably sourced biomass by-products to produce packaging that has increased strength, insulation, and is also cost-effective. Evanescence’s product portfolio includes a wide range of molded products that includes meat trays and food trays, as well as cups, bowls, and clamshells.
Rekosistem – Rewards For Recycling
Considering the increasing greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, significant efforts are being put into the reduction of carbon footprint. Incentivizing circular economy concepts encourages people to recycle more and also creates a market for reusable products. Startups are also leveraging the internet of things (IoT) to develop zero waste solutions for smart cities.
Indonesian startup Rekosistem is developing an IoT-enabled smart bin, ReBox, to increase public engagement for recycling non-organic waste and generate rewards for recycling. The startup is using this smart bin to encourage the public to drop off any non-organic waste and claim rewards from Rekosistem. The startup also offers zero waste consulting services for municipal solid waste (MSW) management facilities.
LastObject – Reusable Swabs
Convenience and abundance are the first things that come to mind in terms of single-use products. However, the carbon footprint and plastic pollution that these single-use products cause significant disruption to local, and even far-away marine and other natural habitats. Many organizations have already started implementing zero waste practices in the value chain of their products. For example, the use of reusable and recyclable materials in the packaging industry. Startups develop reusable replacements for single-use products that enable consumers to reduce the amount of waste generation.
Danish startup LastObject manufactures LastSwab, a set of reusable products including q-tips, tissues, and cotton rounds for makeup application. LastSwab incorporates thermoplastic elastomers such as polypropylene with a bio-based carrying case to enable functional portability. One reusable swab is capable of replacing 1000 single-use cotton swabs. The startup’s product is easy to clean and reuse with soap and water.
What About The Other 343 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence and enable you to achieve your goals faster. The 5 zero waste solutions showcased above are promising examples out of 348 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria, get in touch.
