Software company Circularise has announced the completion of a pilot exploring the traceability of plastic waste using blockchain technology in collaboration with Japanese companies AMITA and Marubeni Corporation (NASDAQ: MARUF).
The Circularise pilot introduces two digital product passports that track plastic bottle caps through all stages of the recycling process. The initiative, piloted in the Japanese city of Kobe, tracked bottle caps through polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) grades before being recycled.
Circularise’s experiment falls under the Japan Circular Economy Partnership (J-CEP), an ambitious project launched in October 2022 to strengthen public and private partnerships in improving recycling in Japan.
J-CEP’s projects include upcycling waste plastic, recycling food waste and using eco-friendly proprietary technologies, with more than 170 companies joining the initiative.
Although J-CEP’s initiatives have reached an advanced stage and are attracting members from various sectors, the use of blockchain to achieve its goals is still in its infancy. Blockchain enthusiasts say the technology makes it nearly impossible to manipulate data at any stage of the supply chain, proving the provenance of recycled materials.
Circularise co-founder Jordi de Vos noted that the pilot allowed the company to test its proprietary ‘Smart Questioning’ technology at six Japanese companies in real-life scenarios. The blockchain-based solution showed proficiency in creating a digital product passport without revealing users’ private data.
“Our work with J-CEP demonstrates the potential of digital product passports to transform the recycling industry,” said Vos. “Our vision is to arm more companies with this technology, creating a tangible shift towards a circular economy.”
Given the successes of the pilot, Circularise says it will do its part to increase awareness of the concept of digital product passports for consumers and businesses. However, critics have poked fun at the use of blockchain in the recycling process, noting that the technology is harmful to the environment given the power requirements of Proof-of-Work (PoW) systems.
Blockchain has applications in various industries
Blockchain has made its way from an obscure technology to the mainstream and is ubiquitous in several industries, including finance, real estate and education. While the technology has found most use in the financial sector through tokenization, other industries have woken up to its disruptive potential with new use cases in artificial intelligence (AI),
drugs and even gambling.
In India, authorities are relying on blockchain for forensic investigations, while others are turning to the technology to improve aid provision and the supply chain. Nearly 90% of global banking regulators are exploring blockchain to roll out digital versions of their legal tender, citing the technology’s immutability and transparency.
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