The Western Placer Waste Management Authority (WPWMA) and Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Sacramento State announced the winner of the third annual Circular Economy Innovation Competition as CRDC North America, a Pennsylvania-based manufacturing company that utilizes Plastics #1-7 to create a lightweight aggregate material for use in concrete and asphalt applications.
CRDC, which stands for the Center for Regenerative Design and Collaboration, produces RESIN8TM, a breakthrough lightweight material derived from hard-to-recycle plastics that otherwise would end up disposed in landfills. 鈥淭he core focus of the Circular Economy Innovation Competition and the WPWMA鈥檚 larger circular economy goals is to utilize material that would otherwise end up in our landfill and transform it into a new, reused product,鈥� said Emily Hoffman, WPWMA Public Information Officer. 鈥淐RDC America鈥檚 innovation will help us directly achieve this goal taking a traditionally difficult-to-recycle stream and recycling it into an extremely beneficial product for our growing community.鈥�
The finalist pitch competition was held on Wednesday, April 16 at the Roseville Venture Lab, a public-private partnership between the Growth Factory and the City of Roseville. Eight finalists pitched their innovations to a panel of judges including WPWMA Board Members, Lincoln Councilmember John Reedy and Rocklin Councilmember Bill Halldin; Will Dickinson, former WPWMA Deputy Director and current SPMUD Board Member; Laura Gonzalez-Ospina, Waste and Sustainability Analyst at Sacramento State; Cheryl Beninga, Co-founder of FourthWave; and Thomas Hall, Executive Director of CleanStart.
In addition to awarding $20,000 to CRDC America, the judges decided to award an additional $1,000 Innovator Award each to two finalists: Lorna M Designs, a Fair Oaks-based company that recycles textiles, rubber, and plastic waste into high-quality backpacks, purses and wallets; and FLUID, a Rancho Cordova-based company that recycles textile waste into products for pets including beds and toys.
The focus of this competition is to catalyze a group of early-stage ventures by elevating their startups and providing capacity to refine their concepts and messages through mentorships and training provided by the Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Sacramento State, and ultimately the opportunity to compete for funding.
The 2024 competition winner was Fiber Global, an Indiana-based manufacturing startup that recycles cardboard into medium-density fiberboards (MDF). Additionally, in 2024 the competition judges elected to award a $5,000 Innovator Award to Sierra College student-led ECO-Builder which recycles plastic waste into building materials. 鈥淭he Carlsen Center and Sacramento State have been wonderful partners to the WPWMA throughout the three years of the competition and we look forward to seeing how our collaboration progresses as the Placer Center is constructed in the coming years,鈥� said Hoffman.
In addition to continuing to support the Circular Economy Innovation Competition, the WPWMA鈥檚 Board of Directors also approved funding research projects for Sacramento State faculty related to the circular economy and other forward-looking challenges for the solid waste and recycling industry.