Edinburgh-based waste management tech firm Topolytics has been recognised as one of the five winners in the Circular Innovation City Challenge out of 200 entrants.
New York City, Toronto, Amsterdam, Glasgow, and Copenhagen have partnered for the challenge which aims to help create cities where businesses and people work together to make the most of our resources.
The team-up aims to find innovative digital and data-driven solutions from around the world to create inclusive cities, in which designing for circularity means providing new jobs and opportunities for all communities and citizens.
Topolytics has been hailed for “modernising global waste management,” by helping producers to understand how much waste they generate by type, what happens to the waste, and its associated carbon impact.
Its WasteMap software, a waste data analytics platform which uses machine learning to make the world’s waste more visible and verifiable, is used by producers, processors, investors, and regulators around the world to generate better environmental and commercial outcomes.
According to recent data, close to 70% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050. Cities emit 70% of greenhouse gas emissions and account for 50% of global waste production.
The transition to a circular economy is key to helping cities reach their climate targets and a sustainable future in line with the Paris Agreement and the UN global goals.
In the UK, Topolytics has been working with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to use WasteMap to create a digital waste regulation system for the UK, analysing the hundreds of millions of regulated waste movements across the country each year.
Commenting on his firm’s recognition in the Circular Innovation City Challenge, Topolytics founder Mike Groves said: “The radical changes needed will not come without better use of data and insights on the materials and products we use, new circular business models, and new ways of engaging all city communities.
“Emerging technologies and digital solutions are key to accelerate this transition. When waste is generated in location, and then moved to another for sale, recycling or manufacturing, for example, this complex geography needs to be made visible and accessible so it can be analysed leading to better decision-making.
“WasteMap enables this to happen, and helps with better analysis for the waste industry, to drive new business models, smarter infrastructure and greater transparency.”
Mike Groves will be speaking at the ScotlandIS Climate Tech event next month, focusing on ‘Land to Waste: Scotland’s future Circular Economy’. You can book your place now for this session on 19th August.
Source: DIGIT