1. Deposit-refund

Deposit-refund scheme for cans and drinking bottles in the EU and UK is a commendable scheme for waste management, as it incentivizes the consumer to return the bottle or can for which he/she is compensated, and it reduces pressure on landfills, increasing the life cycle of the product. The deposit refund scheme if applied to all products will greatly increase the rate of recycling, and it is easily replicable across different localities and regions, as the mechanism remains the same.

2. SmartBelly Bins

In Australia, SmartBelly bins treat most of its garbage by segregating the waste at the collection point and then undergoes the process of composting, treating most of its waste. Bigbelly (SmartBelly or BigBelly) bins automatically create extra space for garbage when the bin is full. More garbage space means fewer collection trips, lower costs and fewer emissions. One of the major advantages of these bins is that they connect individual bins to garbage collectors that result in the more efficient management of waste.

3. The Leaf Republic

The Leaf Republic, a company in Germany takes inspiration from India, but with a twist. They produce plates made of leaves. Yes, you heard it right! After 3 years of extensive research, the company introduced ‘Leaf Plates’ to deal with the growing issues of plastic pollution. These plates are entirely made of leaves and the company claimed that not a single tree was cut in the production of these plates. The plates cost 50 cents each and are 100 percent biodegradable. The company has sourced the special creeper leaves from India and the packaging is inspired by the Asian tradition of stitching the leaves into plates.

4. Recycle Your Plastic And Get Rewarded

Who doesn’t like winning the lottery? Colombia built on this idea and completely changed the way citizens managed their garbage. They implemented a scheme where anyone who recycled their plastic was rewarded. The country produces around 28,800 tonnes of solid waste per day, with 10,000 tonnes of this waste being generated in the main cities of Bogotá, Cali, Medellín and Barranquilla. They knew they had a serious garbage problem to deal with, and that’s when the authorities came up with the idea of ECOBOT (Reverse Vending Machine) – A recycling initiative that encourages people to recycle their waste. The Vending Machines were installed in popular locations like shopping malls, institutions and public spaces, and every time someone deposits a plastic bottle or the caps, they receive restaurant coupons or movie tickets or simply shopping dollars. All the plastic that the vending machine collects is then sent to recycling plants instead of landfills.

5. Trade Trash For Free Healthcare

Malang, a city in Indonesia, generated more than 55,000 tonnes of waste every day. It was also a city where a majority of people did not have health insurance. These two issues may seem unconnected, but Dr Gamala Albinsaid, a healthcare entrepreneur and CEO of health company Indonesia Medika saw this as a huge social opportunity. He created Garbage Clinical Insurance which let people trade garbage for medical services and medicines. This scheme aims to tackle both poverty and waste in Indonesia, a country where more than 10% live below the poverty line. The scheme inspires low-income households to recycle their trash because by doing so they will be able to finance their health micro-insurance. The clinic takes in the trash from people and sells it to recyclers for recycling. The money collected from recyclers is then spent on giving people basic health insurance.