Plastic Odyssey

19 tons of plastic are dumped in the Ocean every minute. Once at sea, it’s too late. Plastic sinks and breaks down into micro-particles too small to be collected. Let’s make sure this waste never ends up in the ocean. The “garbage patch” is only the tip of the iceberg.

Only 1% of plastic floats on or near the surface. The remaining 99% sink or break down into micro particles to litter the deep sea, becoming impossible to collect while working their way into our marine food chain. This pollution has a lasting effect on health, climate, and maritime activities.

Plastic Odyssey aims to promote and make recycling technologies accessible.

To do so, they develop low-tech and open-source technologies to valorize plastic waste.

These machines are based on existing technologies that have already proven to be successful as far as sorting, recycling and pyrolysis are concerned.

However, they have to be improved and adapted to be mobile, budget-friendly, easy to produce and to repair.

Blueprints will be available online for free so that everyone can have access to them freely.

Plastic Odyssey supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production by demonstrating innovative recycling models that transform plastic waste into valuable resources for local communities. Over three years of exploration, the team showcases how discarded plastics can be repurposed into construction materials, furniture for schools and hospitals, or irrigation systems—promoting sustainable consumption and production while reducing the environmental impact of waste.

The 3DEXPERIENCE platform and its design tools help the team develop machines that reduce plastic pollution, leveraging shared knowledge and global ingenuity.

Connect the future fighters against plastic pollution (policymakers, companies, investors, and entrepreneurs) to develop a worldwide network of recycling local enterprises based on open-source technologies.

They will explore and test these innovative models in 30 countries across the globe. The aim is for these models to be documented and shared with as many people as possible.