What challenge is tackling this project ?
Plastic pollution is one of the major challenges of our century, as its consequences are multiple and devastating for ecosystems. 11 million tons of plastic are dumped into oceans each year : that’s the equivalent of 1 garbage truck every minute. The tendency is to triple in the next twenty years: by 2050, our oceans would contain more plastic than fish.
This plastic can be seen on our coasts trapping animals and damaging landscapes, but also regroups in ocean gyres in compact clusters composed of floating macro and micro plastics : the biggest one is even named the 7th continent and covers 1.6 millions km2 (as much as Mongolia or 3 times France). But plastics don’t biodegrade: instead, they break down over time into ever smaller pieces known as microplastics and nanoplastics. These tiny pieces of plastic are then mistaken for food by animals, especially by the first elements of the ocean food chain: plankton. Then, they bioaccumulate in organisms along the food chain, resulting in denutrition, chemical disturbance and reproduction issues. Plastic pollution causes millions of animal deaths every year and contributes to the biodiversity collapse.
According to Heike Vesper, Director of WWF Germany’s marine program, the plastic pollution already present in our oceans is irreversible because of its dispersal and fragmentation into micro and nanoplastics. Hence, it is much more effective to address the causes of plastic pollution than to clean up afterwards. Plastic is everywhere : in our clothes, in cars’ tires, in a lot of daily objects and in almost every single packaging.
Today, single-use plastics account for more than a third of the plastic produced every year and the majority of the waste (130 millions tons). Many of these products, such as plastic bags and food wrappers, required oil extraction, heavy industrial processes, transports just to have a service life of mere minutes to hours, before persisting in the environment for dozen or hundreds of years (450 years for an average plastic bottle, 20 years for a plastic bag)…
What solution does it provide ?
The three R’s rule — Reduce, Reuse, Recycle — sets the principles of waste sustainability. Pyxo chose to address the second pillar: Reuse. Pyxo addresses the challenge of single use packaging waste by developing a Reuse system to decrease our dependence on plastic containers. Loss induced by reuse models are less important than recycling loss, as recycling processes necessarily contain wastage cycle after cycle : additional materials are needed in addition to recycled materials as well as energy inputs.
Reused containers are complex to implement, as many obstacles can slow their adoption : change of consumer habits, loss of containers, scale effects, heterogeneity of packaging design, logistics to washing centers…
Pyxo bypasses the logistics and supply difficulties thanks to blockchain technology : it developed a tracking system to guarantee the traceability of containers and thus avoid financial loss when an item is not returned to a collect point. Pyxo also tries to fit into the traditional customer path to make reuse as effortless as possible for the customer and make the transition from disposable packaging possible (the easiest solution for the customer).
Pyxo also develops gamification and incentive mechanisms like cashback incentive or an attractive digital experience to make sustainability desirable and not only constrained.
Pyxo’s containers belong to firms : firms are accountable for their own containers which guarantees that it enters the wash&reuse process. This also enables Pyxo to build a huge network of containers and thus reach scale effect which is necessary to make the system profitable. Pyxo is already working with international brands such as McDonald’s. This partnership was tested in 83 restaurants and allowed to avoid 3.8 tons of plastic and cardboard waste : at a national level it represents 800 tons a year. Pyxo first focuses on France where regulation is favorable to its project and then plans to expand internationally.
Why is this project important ? What do we like about it?
Pyxo provides a solution aiming at reducing the plastic pollution, which is a major threat to an already suffering biosphere. It is an urgent challenge to address. By reducing the production of single use plastic packaging which are 98% fossil based, Pyxo also contributes to the reduction of GHG emissions related to oil&gas production.
Pyxo focuses on the Reuse pillar of circular economy : Pyxo’s containers can undergo up to 200 cycles, which makes them more likely to expand, contrary to recycling and new material solutions. What we loved about Pyxo is the circular approach, and the construction of an ecosystem allowing this circular approach to exist, to succeed. Pyxo develops positive incentives to the entire ecosystem: the food industry companies, the logistics supports and of course the consumers at the heart of the circular economy, which make a behavioral change of the whole chain possible and worth fighting for.
What are your main concerns ? In your opinion, which external negativities are keys to control for this project ?
Pyxo’s circular model demands to remove some uncertainties. The model demands a “solid” packaging, able to handle hundreds of cycles of reuse. Today, Pyxo’s containers can handle between 20 and 200 cycles. As they are more robust, they are also more raw material and energy intensive : a minimum of cycles must be guaranteed so its LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) becomes more virtuous than single use packaging. Pyxo argues that 4 to 5 reuse cycles allow the container to be more virtuous, thanks to their European production.
The logistics is also an externality to control : Pyxo’s system demands transportation for containers as well as washing centers using water and energy. It represents 80% of the costs of a cycle. Pyxo already focuses on this aspect as water and electricity consumption are directly linked to their costs : it uses heat recovery systems, closed cycle washing infrastructures, high capacity wash tanks, … Including logistics and washing, Pyxo argues that 14 reuse cycles allow the container to be more virtuous.
Finally, Pyxo chose to start its activity with a partnership with McDonald’s. It presents a risk of rebound effect : customers might find Pyxo’s containers and gamification “cool” and feel eco-friendly and thus make McDonald’s more attractive in spite of its huge environmental footprint as well as its damaging health effect. But we must acknowledge that the size of McDonald’s as well as its reputation might start a ripple effect, leading to a wide adoption of Pyxo’s reusable containers by other players of the food industry and to the construction of the new reuse value chain.
Any follow-up questions? Want to talk directly to the founders?
Please, join their dedicated Discord channel: https://discord.gg/8uxUV88tjV
About Cardashift
Cardashift enables citizens-investors to build the world of tomorrow.
Our first product is a community-run launchpad that raises funds, builds and accelerates startups that are solving social and environmental issues. Cardashift is based on Cardano, the blockchain platform for change-makers, innovators, and visionaries.
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