Ensuring provenance through blockchain technology of

Recycled Materials

Nearly 50 billion disposable plastic containers are to be recycled in the EU by 2025 with an imposed quota of 90%. These increasing legal requirements will be enforced in order to increase recycling quotas. Already today the market for recycled plastic is strongly scarce and thus the provenance tracking of packaging and plastic materials becomes the decisive factor to prevent false or counterfeit declaration. ARXUM blockchain solutions revolutionize the traceability of materials in the "waste supply chain" and thus enable a completely new quality of material tracking.

SECTOR BENEFITS

True Lifecycle Transparency

Increase transparency across the entire life cycle of a product - from delivery to proper disposal - by issuing a blockchain certificate (aka token).

Smart Contracts & Token Systems

Become the driver of new business model innovations in a circular economy, e.g. with token based reward systems, fostering recycling activities.

Provenance and purity of recyclates

Through the use of so-called blockchain tokens, which are generated directly at the recognition point for each quantity of plastic delivered, material flows are fast, scalable and highly transparent.

Traceability back to the source

Increase the material purity of your products and reliably determine the provenance of your products. Whether in plastics recycling, food & beverages , agricultural products or industrial goods.

ARXUM BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY FOR THE RECYCLING INDUSTRY

  • Traceability along the entire supply chain

    Track & Trace functions in conjunction with the digital ID of packaging allows verified information about the origin of the material and its recyclability.

  • Audit-proof process documentation

    Blockchain technology helps to clearly track once identified material batches along the entire value chain.

  • End-to-end transparency

    Obtain detailed data and consistent information about material stocks at all stages of the processing chain based on the material tokens generated.

  • Smart contracts

    Smart Contracts manage the creation of material tokens. By directly connecting the recognition software to the Smart Contract, no falsified material flows can get into the database.
Case study

Case study: ARXUM operates blockchain system for global plastics recycling project Greenback

In many developing countries there is no structured waste collection system. Worldwide, hundreds of thousands of people earn their living by collecting recyclable plastic packaging. The collectors (pickers) depend on the knowledge and benevolence of the reception centre agents accepting the material. In order to improve the disposal systems in these regions, ARXUM has developed a blockchain-based solution for sorting recyclable material together with the recycling start-up Greenback. Every plastic delivery is filmed at the collection points. An AI-based recognition software identifies all units (so-called SKUs) on the footage and provides precise information on the quantity, type and purity of the identified plastic. ARXUM connects the recognition software directly to its blockchain and creates a cryptographic token for each kilo of identified plastic. The pickers are no longer paid according to weight, but for truly identified plastic. The pickers are no longer dependent on the good will of the supervisor at the reception center, but receive every gram of plastic paid. Since additional weight (e.g. due to liquid residues in the bottles) is no longer payed for, the Reception Center receives cleaner basic material in perspective. The recognition software also identifies recyclable plastic units that are unknown to the Reception Center staff, so that the picker is also paid for these. In this way, more plastic is removed from the environment in perspective.Illegal injection of new / counterfeit plastics into the recycling chain is prevented by the fact that a material token is used directly at the recognition of the plastic to document the process. Only the Smart Contract connected to the recognition system can generate the tokens. All captured data such as images and videos are stored for later tracing and secured by a digital ID (fingerprint / hash) on the blockchain. The tokens and checkweighing ensure that the weight of the plastic has not been manipulated in the further processing. Customers, e.g. manufacturers of bottles for beverages, personal care products etc., receive a tamper-proof certification with the token that the recycled plastic has been demonstrably removed from the environment, including traceability back to the collection source.