“Bin-novate” by John Keells Group’s Plasticcycle

Plasticcycle, the social entrepreneurship project of the John Keells Group, launched “Bin-novate 2022” in April this year, to commemorate the World Creativity and Innovation Day. The concept of the competition was to encourage the public, to submit design ideas for a bin to be placed in the coastal areas of Sri Lanka to collect recyclable plastic waste.

The competition was held in 3 age categories, including an 8–13-year category to encourage creativity and innovation from a young age, whilst also acting as a reminder of the environmental impacts of plastic pollution. The design criteria included that the bin be made from a sustainable material that can withstand beach conditions and additional points were awarded to any designs that included upcycled or recycled materials. In addition to the cash prizes, the winners will also receive due credit should the design be used by Plasticcycle to produce bins.

Speaking on Bin-novate, Nisreen Rehmanjee – Executive Vice President John Keells Group & Head of Corporate Finance, Group Tax and Social Entrepreneurship Project, said that “at Plasticcycle we are constantly looking at ways to engage with the public to create a mindset change towards consciously reducing our plastic footprint. Generating new and creative ideas to improve what we do through competitions like this, helps us not only to engage with our community to encourage responsible disposal of plastic waste, but also to showcase talent and innovation.”