Four finalists are advancing to the Race to Rethink Plastic Impact Competition at Enactus World Cup!

The Race to Rethink Plastic recognizes and mobilizes Enactus students whose projects demonstrate measurable progress toward the global plastic waste crisis. Most plastic packaging is used only once, and 95% of the value of plastic packaging material is an economic loss of approximately $80 to $120 billion USD annually.

The Race to Rethink Plastic Impact Competition is powered by The Coca-Cola Company, and winning teams will receive $25,000 USD for project scaling funding. Finalists were chosen from a field of 91 entries from 15 countries by an independent judging panel of sponsor employees, subject matter experts, and Enactus alumni.

Team projects advancing to the Race to Rethink Plastic final round include:

• The Eco Tiles project from Enactus students at Kyrgyz State University of Construction, Transport and Architecture, Kyrgyzstan, which combines discarded plastic and sand to create durable composite colorful tiles. The team estimates their project will reduce plastic waste in the populous country capital of Bishkek by 30,000 tons.

• Project Leher from Enactus students at Shri Ram College of Commerce, India, which is a system to collect discarded cigarette butts, detoxify them, and mix the cleaned materials with clay to create functional terra cotta vessels. So far, the students have protected 14.9 billion liters of water and prevented 26,780 kilograms of microplastic pollutants from entering those waters. Concomitantly the students have developed a new labor force for material procurement and manufacture.

• Project Amanat from Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, India, which is the development of a closed circular model of economic and environmental sustainability. The system uses recycled plastic as currency. Individuals take discarded plastic to recycling banks in exchange for points that can be redeemed for specific needs such as meals and other goods. Points are tracked and redeemed through a mobile app. The collected waste is subsequently used in the manufacture of new materials. Collection sites and manufacture of goods provide new job opportunities, resulting in income for individuals in need.

• Project Haritah, an initiative by students at Sri Aurobindo College, India, to replace single-use plastic with reusable, biodegradable bamboo. The manufacture of the bamboo products creates new jobs and a source of income for women from underprivileged backgrounds, to name one group. The team has been successful at replacing 60 kilograms of single-use plastic with the biodegradable alternative and has already identified 30 commercial outlets who intend to replace their plastic cutlery with the bamboo alternative.

Please help us in congratulating these teams in their achievement and wish them best of luck when they participate in the Race to Rethink Plastic Impact Competition at #EnactusWorldCup this October. 

World Races are just one of the ways that we work with Enactus students to fulfill our vision of creating a better, more sustainable world. In addition to the Race to Rethink Plastic, there are three additional World Races— the Race for Climate Action, 1 Race 4 Oceans, and the Race to Feed the Planet. Learn more on Enactus+. 

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