Nice, Lyon et Puteaux	FRANCE	Waste recovery, biodiversity protection, circular economy, local community development

 

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

 

Founded in 2014 by actor Samuel Le Bihan and former Action Contre la Faim CEO François Danel, Earthwake aims to combat plastic pollution. Earthwake is an incubator for low-tech innovations, in other words, it produces technological solutions that are sustainable, useful, and that enable the resilience of populations and ecosystems.

Earthwake is made up of two entities, Earthwake Entreprise, which develops and markets innovations, and Earthwake Association, which carries out solidarity projects to benefit vulnerable communities.

 

OBJECTIVES

Earthwake’s aim is to solve the problem of plastic pollution, which is currently characterised by over 10 million tonnes of waste dumped in the oceans. By recycling this plastic waste, Earthwake aims to encourage its collection before it ends up in the seas and oceans.

 

 

The aim of this approach is to give priority to so-called developing countries, which are the first to be affected by this scourge. The aim is to reduce both :

♥The negative impact on the environment and climate
♥The negative impact on people’s health: on the one hand, plastic waste carries diseases due to the bacteria that develop in it, and on the other, micro-plastics ingested by fish are found in the global food chain.

The aim is not to encourage fuel consumption, but to develop a transitional solution until clean energies take over the energy model of our societies.

MEANS

In collaboration with inventor Christofer Costes, Earthwake has developed a solution for recycling plastic waste: the Chrysalis, a machine capable of transforming plastic waste into energy.

The Chrysalis is a pyrolysis unit, a chemical process that returns plastic to its original state: oil. With the Chrysalis, plastic waste can be converted into fuel.

 

 

Video explanation:

 

To maintain the virtuous approach of this solution, the Chysalis has been designed to be self-sufficient and mobile. Contained in a container, it can be sent as close as possible to the waste that it recycles.

In developing countries, most electricity comes from diesel-powered generators, so the waste transformed by the Chrysalis will become a source of development for local economic and social activities.

In France and abroad, this solution is also helping to create jobs.

After obtaining an exemption from the French Ministry for Ecological Transition, Earthwake was able to carry out an unprecedented test: mixing diesel made from plastic waste and standard diesel to power household waste collection lorries.

Our Odyssébus project benefited from this innovation. The bus was first filled up with Earthwake diesel!

In 2021, Earthwake has been accredited by the Solar Impulse Foundation.

 

OUR IMPACT 

Since 2019, International Impact has sent around ten civic service volunteers to Earthwake.

They help to set up and monitor the association’s projects, look for funding and raise the profile of the work carried out.

Some of the volunteers also help out with R&D, providing technical and logistical support to the teams developing Chrysalis.

 

Photos ©Earthwake

 

To become an Earthwake volunteer, check out our vacancies here!

To visit the association’s website, click here.