Pitch
Magnomer magnetic markers are inexpensively applied to rigid plastic packaging enabling automated segregation of single-stream recyclables.
Description
Summary / Résumé
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Our planet faces a waste crisis of gargantuan proportions. Lightweight packaging such as cutlery cups, lids, and containers are recycled at extremely low rates and constitute a bulk of this problem. Such packaging does not get recycled due to two reasons:
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Consumer Behaviour: End Consumers often disregard such packaging items and do not discard them in the recycling bin
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Inefficient Sorting : Even when discarded in the recycling bin, such packaging does not get sorted efficiently and contaminates glass and paper recycling streams.
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We developed a versatile magnetic material marker technology which can be inexpensively applied to any rigid plastic packaging (e.g. plastic cutlery, cups, lids). Our patent pending magnetic marker enables automated segregation of single-stream recyclables using industry-grade magnetic separators at Material Recovery Facilities. Our magnetic marker design contributes to a circular economy by increasing the recycling efficiency of small single-use plastics and by making recycling rates less reliant on end-consumers’ correct recycling behavior.
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Magnomer’s designs enable a sustainable circular life cycle for plastic cutlery, and at the same time represent business and financial upsides to all stakeholders involved in the circular value Chain. Our visual coatings enable partnering cutlery manufacturers to differentiate a commodity product and thereby increase gross margins. End product customers which include quick service restaurants (QSR) such as McDonalds and Starbucks retain the convenience of single-use cutlery and enjoy a marketing benefit in exchange for low cost premiums. The resulting increased participation in curbside recycling programs also mitigates local regulatory risk for such enterprises. Moreover, it reduces waste hauling and employee training costs.
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What actions do you propose? / Quelles actions proposez-vous?
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Beginning with single-use plastics like cutlery, Magnomer’s foodsave magnetic marker should be applied to those recyclable plastics to divert them from the landfills.
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Which types of stakeholders are involved, in which way? / Quels types de parties prenantes sont impliqués, de quelle façon?
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Magnomer’s customers are food and beverage chains, universities and colleges and cities which benefit from Magnomer by reducing their waste hauling costs and the ability to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability to their end consumers, in exchange for affordable premiums which are on par with compostables.
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Magnomer partners with manufacturers and distributors of small plastic items, like plastic cutlery. They face pressure from compostable bioplastics, thus partnering with Magnomer represents an opportunity to increase their competitiveness and their branding at low switching costs.
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Magnomer also partners with recyclers for whom Magnomer’s products reduce the level of contamination from small plastics and an growing recycling rate of small plastic items which both results in an increase in revenue. Moreover, it makes sorting less capital intensive and therefore reduces their business risk significantly.
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End-consumers also benefit from Magnomer’s technology as it eases their recycling efforts.
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How could the actions be scaled up at the neighborhood or city level? / Comment serait-il possible d'augmenter la portée des actions à l'échelle des quartiers ou de la ville?
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The impact of Magnomer depends on the number of plastics that carry Magnomer’s magnetic marker, the distribution of Magnomer’s printer s and the installation of magnetic separators at recycling plants. Therefore, actions could be scaled up by applying Magnomer’s magnetic marker, not only to polypropylene (type 5 plastic) cold-cups and cutlery, but also bottle caps, shrink wrap for bottles and small portion containers. The success of this action depends on an increase in Magnomer’s printers and a systematic, geographic distribution of magnetic separators at recycling plants.
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What impact will these actions have on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change? / Quels impacts auront ces actions sur la réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre et l'adaptation aux changements climatiques?
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Creating plastics needs a lot of energy and natural resources like water, petroleum. When the energy is generated from fossil fuels the Carbon footprint of virgin plastics is even worse. Recycling plastics decreases the need for energy and natural resources and therefore reduces greenhouse gas emissions significantly.
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What are the other environmental, economic or social benefits? / Quels sont les autres bénéfices environnementaux, économiques et sociaux?
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Environmental benefits: Our magnetic marker results in an increase in the recycling rate of small disposable plastics which in return reduces the amount of plastic ending up in landfill, in our oceans, rivers and drinkwater. Moreover,our magnetic markers prevents small single-use plastic items from contaminating glass and paper recycling, which results in an overall higher recycling rate of other recycling streams.
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Economic benefits:
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Our customers (large volume consumers of packaging) pay prices on par with compostable products while reducing costs on waste hauling (diverting material away from trash) and employee time (by removing need for manual sorting of packaging).
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For packaging distributors and manufacturing suppliers, our technology converts low margin plastic packaging items into eco-friendly high margin products at a low switching cost.
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For MRFs (Material Recovery Facilities, i.e. recycle plant operators), our product serves to reduce contamination of glass and paper recycling streams and decreases business risk
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What are the most innovative aspects and main strengths of this approach? / Quels sont les aspects novateurs et les principales forces de cette approche?
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Magnomer-designed packaging enables its customers to achieve zero waste goals without relying on correct end consumer behavior. Customers pay prices on par with compostable products which does not live up to its eco-friendly reputation due to inadequate back-end composting and recycling infrastructure and high reliance on conscious consumer behavior.
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What are the proposal’s projected costs? / Quels sont les coûts projetés de la proposition?
It is estimated that Magnomer will have to bear a cost of about $20,000 per printer installation at a customer’s manufacturing site. This involves equipment modification and overall installation costs. Besides labor, printing materials and R&D costs, an infrastructure deployment of additional magnetic separators in recycling plants is needed and is critical for Magnomer’s success. It should be noted that magnetic separators required in MRFs are inexpensive, costing about $25,000, and easy to maintain. This makes the deployment of needed separators economically viable in the context of the overall business. As an example: the Greater Boston area which represents an annual market of about 600 million pieces of plastic disposable cutlery is served by 4 single-stream MRFs. Each MRF will need to install a $25,000 magnetic separator for retrieval of Magnomer cutlery. Nationally, there are about 500 single-stream MRFs which would need to be equipped with magnetic separators, a $12.5 MM investment, to serve annual domestic demand of 40 billion units of cutlery. Revenue comes from sale of supplies related to magnetic-markers to the customer (or their manufacturing partners). The sales price covers manufacturing costs of said supplies and magnetic separation equipment installation in the targeted sales region while booking profits at or better than industry averages. Customers of Magnomer pay prices on par with eco-friendly food service packaging currently available in the Market.
What are the potential challenges or obstacles? / Quels sont les défis ou les obstacles potentiels?
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Consumers’ perception of compostable and bio-plastics as an environmental-friendly packaging is hard to change and therefore represents the greatest competitor to Magnomer’s magnetic marker solution.
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About the authors / À propos des auteur(e)s
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RAVISH MAJITHIA, FOUNDER AND CEO currently a Babson Fellow at Babson College. He has a Ph.D. in Materials Science with specialization in nanomaterials from Texas A&M University.
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VISHAL SALIAN is a polymer science savant with over five years of industry experience in development of additives for polymers.
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KUMARIL KAPADIA is an ink chemist with with over 15 years of R&D experience in inks and coatings.
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References / Références
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Our current advisors are Emily Green who is the independent Director on the Board of Casella Waste Systems, Inc., a Materials Recovery Facility, and Deana Becker who is the Director of Stakeholder Operations at Preserve, a plastic cutlery manufacturer.
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