Tech Challenge to Improve the Collection of Glass for Recycling

This initiative challenges engineers and organizations from all over the world to design a new bin tipping system to help bars and restaurants dump their glass into the street containers. 

Ecovidrio is a non-profit organization in Spain responsible for managing glass packaging waste recycling. It started in 1998 as an initiative by the glass packaging industry to efficiently and sustainably manage glass recycling.

This open innovation challenge is a strategic initiative that gives engineers and companies the opportunity to collaborate with Ecovidrio to evolve the current tipping system and, therefore, increase glass collection rates in the HORECA channel.

As of today, glass is stored by the staff in trash bins Inside bars and restaurants that are later emptied into big containers placed on the streets.

Some trash bins are difficult to handle due to their weight (e.g. 120L bins can weigh up to 40 kg) and sometimes cause glass and liquids to fall into the street. All this makes glass collection less efficient, creating a barrier to recycling, increasing occupational hazards and finding unsuitable items in the containers (plastic bags, etc.).

To find solutions, Ecovidrio partnered with Ennomotive, an open innovation platform specializing in solving engineering challenges. Through this platform, any person or entity will be able to register and submit any of these two options:

1. A new assisted tipping system that allows easy, fast and safe emptying of bins into containers.
2. A more global solution including maybe a new ‘bin’ for storing the glass on the premises, transporting it and unloading it into the container.

Participation is open to engineering professionals, but also to companies, tech centers and start-ups and academia – individually or in teams – who want to propose solutions to this challenge.

Ecovidrio offers an immediate reward of 5,000 EUR, to be shared among the participants that submit the best solutions, and an additional 10,000 EUR for the challenge winner to go on and support Ecovidrio during a later prototyping phase.

Those interested in participating should sign up for the challenge, download detailed information and submit their solution by July 24th, 2024.