stops

Zarkon Group Real Estate Builders & Developers > Blog > stops

Tag: stops

A platform stops imperfect food from going to waste in Mexico
CategoriesSustainable News

A platform stops imperfect food from going to waste in Mexico

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: According to a report by the WWF, more than 15 per cent of usable food is lost before it ever leaves the farm, with the majority of this waste occurring in middle and high income regions. Some of this waste occurs when food is left on the field due to order cancellations, imperfections in food appearance, or a surplus. This represents a tremendous waste of resources. Mexican startup Perfekto is hoping to improve the situation with its delivery boxes.

Launched in 2021, Perfekto works with more than 70 producers to ‘rescue’ food that cannot be sold to suppliers. Subscribers choose from different types and sizes of box, or can request a ‘surprise’ box. These boxes can also be personalised with different types of produce and are then delivered using proprietary software that automates routing and logistics. All of the fruit and vegetables arrive with minimal packaging, and what packaging there is, is returnable to Perfekto for recycling and/or reuse.

Since its origins, the business has grown to more than 3,000 active monthly subscribers. However, the company envisions even bigger things in the future, with hopes of expanding into food other than fruits and vegetables, including those foods that are less likely to sell because of dented packaging. Perfekto recently announced that it has raised $1.1 million (approximately €1.07 million) in pre-seed funding to expand its food rescue programme across Mexico City, improve operations and technology, and expand its catalogue of products.

Perfekto is one of a number of companies that are working to save food from ending up in landfills. Springwise has also spotted a platform that helps hospitality companies manage their inventories to reduce waste, and AI that checks the ripeness of produce.

Written By Lisa Magloff

Reference

A floating barrier stops rubbish from flowing into the ocean
CategoriesSustainable News

A floating barrier stops rubbish from flowing into the ocean

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Around 8 million tonnes of plastic is dumped into the oceans every year. And roughly 80 per cent of this plastic waste actually started out in rivers. Complicating cleanup was a finding in which researchers concluded that more than 1,000 rivers are responsible for most of the plastic that ends up in the ocean. The researchers also found that most of that waste is carried by small rivers that flow through densely populated urban areas, not the largest rivers.

To tackle this plastic scourge, Germany-based enterprise Plastic Fischer has developed a floating barrier, called TrashBoom, designed to prevent plastic waste from reaching the ocean. The startup was founded by three students, who realised during a trip to Vietnam that the river view from their balcony was actually a stream of plastic waste floating on the surface. The TrashBoom is a floating fence constructed from locally available materials that traps the plastic. The waste is then manually gathered and transported to sorting facilities.

All recyclables are reintroduced into the supply chain and unrecyclable materials are sent to certified Thermal Recovery Plants. All of the TrashBooms are built locally, with locally sourced, low-tech materials. The projects are managed by locally hired staff and project managers, with only two full-time employees working in Europe. The entire process is verified through plastic recycling platform Empower.

TrashBoom is working in collaboration with a number of oganisations, including Allianz and ‘Make A Change World’ in Bali, and has inspired a number of others. The company says that they, “are very proud that we have managed to motivate other companies like e.g. Sungai Watch, Pangea Movement and other NGOs to copy our approach and stop plastic in rivers with simple technology.”

As the tide of plastic sweeping into rivers, oceans, and every other corner of the globe continues unabated, we are also seeing a growth of innovations aimed at stemming it. These include other types of river barrier projects, ocean barrier projects and the use of ships scrubbers and autonomous robots to remove plastic.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference