The Western Placer Waste Management Authority awarded a total of $25,000 in prize money to the top two entrants in its competition, managed by the Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at California State University, Sacramento.
ROSEVILLE, CALIF. – The Western Placer Waste Management Authority (WPWMA) and Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship announced the winner of the second annual Circular Economy Innovation Competition as Fiber Global, an Indiana-based building materials manufacturing company.
Fiber Global is a climate technology startup company focused on advancing building materials, creating products including their flagship product, Foraged Fiber Board, from recycled corrugated cardboard to manufacture panels that can be used in the furniture and construction industries. They are based out of Lafayette, Indiana where they have a manufacturing plant, but seek to expand their operations across the United States, including in Placer County.
The finalist pitch competition was held on Wednesday, April 24 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, Roseville Councilmember Scott Alvord and Rocklin Councilmember Bill Halldin; Ryan Todd, Director of Energy and Sustainability at California State University, Sacramento; Cheryl Beninga, Co-founder of FourthWave; and Monique Brown, Co-founder and Managing Director of the Growth Factory.
In addition to awarding $20,000 to Fiber Global, the judges decided to award an additional $5,000 Innovator Award to ECO-BUILDER, a Sierra College student-led company that recycles plastic into building materials, diverting these materials from potential landfill disposal.
The focus of this competition is to catalyze circular economy and sustainability-based startups and providing capacity to refine their concepts and messages through mentorships and training provided by the Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and ultimately the opportunity to compete for funding.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation defines the World’s current economy as a ‘linear’ system, where materials are procured from the Earth to make products and then are eventually disposed. A circular economy vastly contrasts as it aims to stop waste from being produced in the first place. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has based their circular economy model off of three principles – to eliminate waste and pollution, to circulate products and materials (at their highest value), and to regenerate nature.
These ideals are central to the goals of the WPWMA’s Renewable Placer Waste Action Plan and will be enhanced by the WPWMA’s forthcoming $120 million facility improvement project.
Learn more about the Renewable Placer Waste Action Plan and the innovations coming to the Western Placer Waste Management Authority at RenewablePlacer.com.
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About the Western Placer Waste Management Authority (WPWMA)
The WPWMA is a regional agency established in 1978 through a joint exercise of powers agreement between Placer County and the cities of Lincoln, Rocklin and Roseville (member agencies). The WPWMA’s facilities consist of the Western Regional Sanitary Landfill and a Materials Recovery Facility, including composting, household hazardous waste and recycling buyback facilities. For more information visit WPWMA.ca.gov and RenewablePlacer.com.
