Capacity, capacity, capacity to recover more Roadmap

Capacity, capacity, capacity - the three most important factors to keep any waste management operation financially sustainable. Our current collection vehicle is a lovely three-wheeler with fun cartoons on it. But as lovely and fun looking it is as much of a strain it is to operate it profitable. The calculation is easy - At maximum capacity the value of the plastic waste transported must be more than the cost of operation. Sadly, prices of waste plastic are still too low in Sri Lanka to make that calculation work. At the moment it only makes sense for us to run the vehicle because we can recycle some of the plastic waste in house and generate more value per weight. We do have buyers for all types of plastics, even nylon waste fishing gear but to collect waste material in bulk our payload must increase. The next larger vehicle that would secure the profitability of our operation would be a single cab Bolero pick up and has a price of approximately $15,000 USD and part of the financing will come from the sale of our current three-wheeler. Furthermore, a larger vehicle will not only secure the workplaces of our staff members but also create new workplaces in sorting and processing. Considering Sri Lanka’s economic situation, we believe it is very important to provide more work in the country and avoid Sri Lankans going abroad for work, leaving their family behind. So, in the end it is not only about capacity but also our staff, staff, staff. If we want to retain dignified jobs in waste management in Sri Lanka, we need to keep staff from leaving the country. Capacity = retained staff = good work that keeps the environment clean and increases recycling rates of all plastics.

#PLASTICFREEOCEANS Roadmap

According to the European Commission, fishing gear and single-use plastics account for 70% of marine litter in Europe. Each year, around 640.000 tons of fishing nets are abandoned in the ocean and fishing ports. It is estimated that nowadays less tan 1.5% of this waste is recycled (The Ocean Cleanup), not only one of the most abundant plastic waste in our oceans but also the worst for marine life. From Gravity Wave we’ve been facing up this problem in the Mediterranean Sea since 2020. First, by collaborating with both traditional fishermen and companies, we collect all kinds of plastic from the sea (including discarded fishing nets from fishing ports). In a second stage, as Gravity Wave, we are specialized in the recycling of those ghost and discarded fishing nets. To this day, we have already achieved to create a stable recycling process to transform PE fishing nets into beautiful furniture, but we are always under continuous R&D processes that allow us to recycle both more types of nets (different types of nets, different plastics, different recycling needs) and in larger volumes. These funds will help us to take our industrial recycling tests one step further. One step more towards one of our main purpose: “Move those plastics and fishing nets away from our oceans and transform them into valuable raw material for the industry”. Join the movement and support us for a #PLASTICFREEOCEANS