BASF extends plastics recycling blockchain pilot into British Columbia, Canada
BASF SE , a German chemical company, announced the launch of a pilot of its reciChain distributed ledger blockchain platform Thursday in British Columbia, Canada, to assist with the introduction of a sustainable recycling model to help reduce the production of plastic waste.
The pilot, operated by BASF’s Canadian branch BASF Canada, will use blockchain technology combined with digital badges and loop count technology, which can count the number of products present in a particular volume, to enable securely sharing recycling data amidst market participants.
The objective will be to provide real-time up-to-date information to improve the sorting, tracing and monitoring of plastics throughout the value chain lifecycle of such products. As a result, BASF expects its integrative supply chain with a recycling solution to help create a circular cycle for product use instead of a linear “product, consumer, trash” lifecycle.
In addition, due to the increased transparency of blockchain technology, brands can use the platform to better provide assurance of the validity of certificates for materials bought from recyclers and converters.
“There is a clear global challenge around the economics of recycling plastic. Much of the collection and sorting activities are challenged by manual processes and material contamination. Additionally, traceability is a concern as new commitments start to emerge from brand owners and retailers,” said Marcelo Lu, president of BASF Canada. “With reciChain, our goal is to revitalize the value of plastics and significantly improve circularity in the supply chain.”’
According to a report from Deloitte for Environment and Climate Change Canada , Canada disposed of nearly 3.3 million tons of plastic waste in 2016. Less than 11% of those plastics were recycled. This means that the remains were landfilled or otherwise discarded into the environment. The report estimated that if this trend continues, Canadians will dispose of $11.1 billion worth of plastic materials each year by 2030.
The platform was initially piloted in Brazil and was inspired by a need in the market to deal with social inequality issues as well as regulatory concerns regarding the issuance of recycling certificates.
