Partnership Launches $2M Innovation Prize to Keep Plastics out of Ocean
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, along with The Prince of Wales's International Sustainability Unit, launch a $2 million New Plastics Economy Innovation Prize, which calls for innovators to find new ways of designing packaging to help keep plastics out of the ocean. The Prize is funded by Wendy Schmidt as Lead Philanthropic Partner of the New Plastics Economy initiative.
Demand for plastic products is expected to double in the next 20 years - but the plastics system is broken. Only 14% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling, with the remainder, worth $80-120 billion, lost as waste. Most plastic packaging items are used only once before being discarded, often ending up polluting the environment. If nothing changes, there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050. This new prize aims to keep plastics as valuable materials in the economy, and out of the ocean.