Foundation honors 14 recycling entities

The Global Recycling Foundation (GRF), which was created by the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), has announced the 10 winners of its Recycling Heroes 2022 awards.

The winning organizations receive $1,000 each and “are drawn from individuals and business leaders, sole traders and multinationals who, despite continuing hardships, have managed to sustain their efforts to promote the value of recycling,” states the foundation.

“The world has been enduring exceptionally difficult times and we are delighted to have received so many remarkable entries from around the world,” remarks Ranjit Baxi, founding president of the GRF. “Indeed, to recognize the efforts made by a large number of startups despite two years of the coronavirus pandemic, GRF has decided to make four additional awards of $250 each.”

The winners of the $1,000 awards are:

Schuler Rohstoff GmbH, Germany – Each year the firm recycles about 280,000 tons of scrap and is described by GRF as “particularly proud that they can inspire so many women for our love of scrap.” Half of the administrative staff are “women empowering women and promoting their interest in the recycling industry.”

Una Mano per la Scuola, Italy – This committee made by parents of primary and secondary school students in Inveruno, Milan province, Italy, is raising awareness of recycling and sustainability matters by organizing, with the support of the municipality of Inveruno, for students to collect materials for recycling in the “Trash Challenge,” as well as promoting the planting of trees.

Vintz Plastic, Kenya – The company describes itself as recycling at least 25 tons of plastic scrap per day. “Our business model is unique because we promote circular manufacturing economy by making storage tanks and household items using the recycled plastics as the raw material,” writes the firm. “We place a strong emphasis of working with and training women in the process of collecting and sorting plastic.”

Baby On The Move, New Zealand – The organization focuses on diverting expired child restraints from going to landfill. Its stewardship solution involves recycling car seats.

Ecocykle Limited, Nigeria – A youth-led social enterprise designed to provide effective waste management services to low-income communities who lack sustainable waste management options. Over the last two years, the company has overseen the training of more than 2,000 young men people on how to start their own recycling enterprises.

Oasis Association, South Africa – Since 1952, the organization has grown to support more than 560 intellectually disabled beneficiaries. The organization’s activities are all supported through recycling and thrift initiatives that fund 56 percent of Oasis’ annual income, providing sustainable employment in recycling.

Brewster Bros., Scotland, United Kingdom – A family business centered on the principles of the circular economy turning discarded construction and demolition (C&D) materials into recycled products that can be sold back into the construction sector, diverting tons of material from landfills.

RecycleForce, Indiana, United States – The organization is committed to reducing crime through employment and job training, while improving the environment through electronic scrap recycling. Since 2006, RecycleForce says it has safely recycled more than 65 million pounds of electronic scrap while providing environmental job training to thousands.

Green Club of Lubanga Primary School, Zambia – School children in the Green Club are promoting recycling by collecting discarded drink bottles to make litter bins for keeping the school clean. One of the biggest environmental issues in schools is litter. The Green Club members collect used drink bottles littered around the school and community and use them for their Green and Clean school project.

Norwegian Refugee Council, Norway – The council works in Bangladesh to address the existing problem of plastic pollution in refugee camps. The NRC initiated a Producing Shelter Materials from Recycled Plastic project in partnership with Field Ready to recycle plastic scrap produced by the Rohingya refugee community and surrounding host community people, to transform the materials into safe and sustainable shelter protection products.

The four additional start-up award winners are:

Japheth Sunday, Nigeria – Japheth is reducing environmental pollution in the community with his JETSAR project by converting biowaste to electrical energy that powers homes, including appliances, thus providing one answer to meet renewable energy needs in the country.

Precious Plastic, India – Precious Plastic is running a ragpicker cooperative that also buys plastic scrap from the discarded paper and textile collectors. The plastic is recycled into granules and sold to plastic product manufacturers. Profits from the sale of granules are distributed equally among the ragpickers.

Circular Shield, Slovenia – The organization describes itself as supporting sorted collection and recycling of used beverage cardboard and creating a local, functioning circular economy “as we return paper products made of regenerated cellulose.”

Çelebi Kalkan, Turkey – A primary school teacher, Kalkan has been working on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education for sustainable development purposes since 2015. She believes in promoting educational awareness and sustainable development goals to support present and future generations who must be equipped not only with technical knowledge and skills, but also with a deeper understanding of the values needed to create a peaceful and sustainable future.