Environment
34 tons of garbage collected
Every year, several million tons of plastic end up in the oceans. Around 1,600 rivers wash the majority of it into the seas. The plastic waste destroys marine ecosystems and contributes to the loss of biodiversity. To prevent it from spreading uncontrollably in the water and turning into microplastics, the start-up Plastic Fischer collects the plastic waste from rivers in India and Indonesia - and is supported by the Cologne-based plastics specialist Igus, among others.
Plastic Fischer has already collected and processed over 1,600 tons of plastic waste since the initiative was launched in 2021. The start-up has since created 42 so-called impact sites and 79 jobs for the local population. The Cologne-based plastics specialist Igus has also been one of the initiative's supporters since 2022, with the aim of further advancing the circular economy for plastics. Thanks to the financial support of Igus, 33,611 tons of plastic were fished out of rivers between November 2022 and August 2024. Especially at the Kanpur site in northern India. The city is the main center of commercial and industrial activities in the state of Uttar Pradesh and is located directly on the Ganges, the second longest river in India. Due to the large number of unorganized industrial plants in Kanpur, which are inadequately monitored and whose emissions are not regulated, the Ganges is also one of the dirtiest rivers in the world.
The solution: technically simple and inexpensive garbage traps built from locally available materials
Since August 2022, Plastic Fischer has also been active in Kanpur to prevent plastic from entering the Ganges and ultimately the Indian Ocean. The non-profit company employs 15 full-time employees here to handle the daily tasks. They have already collected more than 315 tons of plastic from the drains that flow into the Ganges. Plastic Fischer has developed its own "TrashBooms" for this purpose. These are floating barriers that prevent the plastic from flowing downstream.
A technically simple and cost-effective solution built from locally available materials that enables quick repairs and high scalability. Every day, the garbage traps are emptied and the plastic is brought to the sorting plant, where it is dried, separated and further processed. "We sell all recyclable materials to local recyclers," explains Karsten Hirsch, CEO and co-founder of Plastic Fischer. "Since most high-quality plastics such as PET bottles are already collected by the informal waste sector, only five percent of our non-organic material can actually be recycled. All non-recyclable materials such as plastic bags are burned and used as an alternative energy source in cement plants, replacing coal."
Together against plastic waste
Since this year, Plastic Fischer in Kanpur and Varanasi has also been certified under the Ocean Bound Plastic Standard. This is one of only two independent verification options in the plastic credit sector worldwide. The start-up also won the Next Economy Award at the 16th German Sustainability Awards, which recognizes innovative business models that advance the "new economy." "We expect to open at least four new locations in India next year and are always looking for ways to get even better," emphasizes Karsten Hirsch. "For example, our TrashBooms are no longer made from PVC pipes, but from LDPE like plastic bags, which allows us to recycle some of the river plastic into TrashBooms. We therefore hope that many other companies will follow Igus' example and support us."
Michael Blass, Managing Director of e-chain systems at Igus, adds: "We are always looking for new ways to promote the sustainable use of plastic. In addition to our own initiatives such as our chainge recycling platform for technical plastics or the RCYL bike made of recycled plastic, we also want to support innovative approaches from other companies. Plastic Fischer impressively shows how you can achieve a lot even with simple, cost-effective solutions. And in doing so, you not only ensure clean rivers, but also create new jobs."