Arthur Huang blew our minds last year with his work at MINIWIZ. We’re thrilled to have him back as a keynote for ZWC19 to hear his latest upcycling adventures.
Taiwan-born, Cornell-trained architect Arthur Huang is a pioneer of upcycling and the circular economy. Recently, his company MINIWIZ moved its headquarters to Singapore, a wealthy city-state with a unique solid waste challenge.
On one hand, Singapore is known for its spotless streets and litter-free beaches. But on the other, Singapore’s 5.6 million people produce about 7.8 million tonnes of waste per year, with the biggest proportion being plastic products. While Singapore’s overall recycling rate is 61%, only 4% of plastics get recycled.
But Arthur Huang has a bold idea to help Singapore become a zero waste nation – decentralized community-based recycling – the latest innovation from MINIWIZ.
TRASHPRESSO is a portable, solar-powered recycling platform that turns plastic into new products in only ten minutes. MINIWIZ Founder and CEO Arthur Huang recently told National Geographic:
“These machines are a prototype of what we think the future of recycling should be,†says Huang.
Huang has fully built two TRASHPRESSO machines so far, hauling them by truck on 40-foot platforms to far-flung places like Yushu, a county on the Tibetan Plateau. Film star Jackie Chan features the expedition in his National Geographic television documentary Green Heroes.
TRASHPRESSO transforms bottles, bags, zip ties and other plastics into molded products such as tiles that can be used as a building or flooring material. It runs on renewable energy and can process up to 50 kilograms of plastics per hour. Work is underway to develop TRASHPRESSO systems that can process textiles, metals, and paper.
Huang imagines a network of hyperlocal trash-processing plants generating new products—and new ideas. His company, Miniwiz, is devoted to building such a circular economy.
Arthur Huang’s ZWC SPARK Talk blew our minds last year, and we can’t wait to hear his inspiring keynote at the Zero Waste Conference, October 30 – 31, 2019 in Vancouver.
Arthur Huang’s SPARK Talk at the 2018 Zero Waste Conference
The 2019 Zero Waste Conference is your guide to the people, ideas and actions that are having the biggest impact.
Stay tuned to the ZWC Blog for conference updates as new speakers are announced.
2019 Zero Waste Conference:
Mobilizing for Success in the Circular Economy
October 30 – 31, 2019
Vancouver Convention Centre (999 Canada Place)
Keynotes Speakers:
Tom Szaky
Arthur Huang
Harald Friedl
Valerie Craig
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