An international summit aimed at finding an agreement to fight against plastic pollution is held in Paris, at the headquarters of Unesco. A few hundred meters away, at the ephemeral Grand Palais, companies from all over the world present eco-responsible solutions.
At the ChangeNOW trade fair, which is held at the temporary Grand Palais in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, everyone has their own solution to fight against plastic pollution. Rémi Allain has designed a system to recover plastic waste at sea. It all started with an observation: “Year after year, I became aware of the plastic pollution. I also had the opportunity to have a few oil balls under my swimming suit. So, I said to myself that a solution had to be found. “
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This marine engineer by training, who defines himself as a “guy of the sea”, became interested three years ago in maritime pollution control boats. But he found they couldn’t cast a very wide net. After several trials, he created and patented V2O Marine, a Y-shaped funnel system to recover marine pollution. “We built an eleven-meter model which we towed off Marseille and which worked very well.“, rejoices Rémi Allain. Faced with this success, the start-up is considering the construction of a system some thirty meters wide. “Eventually, we will reach up to 60 meters!”, anticipates Rémi Allain.
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With this system, the company treats different types of marine pollution: hydrocarbons, plastic waste. “And also the toxic algae, in particular sargassum, which we encounter in the Caribbean”, adds Rémi Allain. But the founding president of V2O Marine is fully aware that this will not be enough to clean up all the seas and oceans. “Pollution is everywhere and it will get worse. So, we are proposing a solution that makes it possible to target places where there is a high concentration of pollution”.
The business manager is currently approaching major French ports to market his system. Because, he insists, there is urgency. “Plastic pollution is the second threat, in my opinion, behind climate change.”
“It is absolutely necessary to tackle this problem head-on, because afterwards, it will be too late. Plastic pollution will become an increasingly significant threat to humanity.”
460 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide each year. This figure has doubled in 20 years and could triple by 2060, if no action is taken. Marc Dib has set himself the goal of limiting the production of this polluting material. “A ton of plastic burned is three tons of carbon in the atmosphere”, emphasizes the founder of Neolitik. His company therefore aims to recycle and recover plastic to manufacture (also with recycled aggregates) “EcoLithe”, a new material to replace concrete, which alone is responsible for 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The very long road to plastic recycling
Two-thirds of the world’s production goes to waste after just one or a few uses and less than 10% of plastic waste is recycled, with varying degrees of difficulty: barely 3% for yoghurt pots, 60% for plastic bottles .
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To further encourage the French to recycle, the B:bot company has installed machines in nearly 200 supermarkets in France that collect and shred plastic bottles. In exchange, the user receives one euro cent per container. “A virtuous model”, argues the company since the beverage industry seeks and “desperately lacking in material from recycling”, and which allows “to limit our oil consumption”needed to make plastic.
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But the best is not to use plastic bottles, adds Ocea Arrigoni from The way you drink (Twyd). Ihe company installs water fountains in establishments open to the public. “We found that there was a real problem when people were equipped with water bottles: they had trouble filling them, they did not fit under the sinks of the toilets and finally they found themselves having to buy plastic bottles. “she explains.
The concept won over Muriel, a visitor to the ChangeNOW show. However, she regrets that awareness took so long. “Not so long ago, even in companies, we didn’t have access to free water in a fountain. Everyone brought their own plastic bottle.”
“My parents knew about the arrival of plastic. Advertising campaigns said ‘plastic is fantastic'”.
Long acclaimed, plastic has harmful consequences on the environment. Microplastics are present everywhere, especially in industrial wastewater and municipal wastewater. This is what Wasser 3.O, a German non-profit organization, is tackling. “We use a chemical that helps microplastics clump together. This forms larger particles that rise to the surface and can then be removed”, explains Katrin Schuhen, its founder. These plastic particles are then recycled and reused in new products and the water can be reused. The solution seems to appeal to industries that want to give themselves a greener image. Today, the organization has clients in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Greece.