The latest technology insights report from the Observatory on Patents and Technology reveals recent trends in the rapidly growing sector of plastic waste management.
Over the past 30 years, inventions to recover and recycle plastic waste have skyrocketed, driving a more circular economy.
Recent trends revealed in the EPO’s latest technical insights report are directly related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 12 (sustainable consumption and production), and SDGS 6 (clean water and sanitation), 14 (living under water), and 15 (living on the land).
The report also comes with a new technology platform that improves access to technical know-how from the field and improves updates to the Deep Tech Finder tool that links inventors and investors.
Plastic Waste Management and Recycling Trends
The Technology Insight report examines 50 years of technological trends in plastic waste management, based on 12,924 unique inventions in waste collection (separation and purification) and waste recycling (conversion into new materials).
The report also provides insight into patent behavior for large field applicants as well as emerging startups and research sectors.
A rapid increase in interventions
Innovations in plastic waste management have surpassed other technology sectors, increasing patent pending activities 18 times during the period from 1990 to 2023. Application growth has intensified since 2015 and accelerated rapidly in the 2020s.
Europe is leading the price
With Germany, France, Italy and the UK moving forward, Europe has consistently led innovation in plastic waste management, accounting for 44% of related patent activities over the past 30 years.
Asia has also steadily contributed to growth and is now consistent with North America, with each region accounting for less than 30% of international patent families (IPFs).
Europe is also leading to AI-driven inventions, two key technical areas for sustainability and competitiveness: removing plastic from water.
Contributors to a wide range of industries
Eight of the top 20 applicants for plastic waste recycling are Europeans, as are 10 of the top 20 applicants for plastic waste collection.
All three pure recycling players featured in these rankings are Europeans, including Elema (Germany) and Calbios (France) and Tomura (Norway) of waste collection.
Overall, about half of the world’s top applicants in these sectors operate in the chemical or tire industry. Many operate in industries such as packaging, automobiles, electronics, printing, or consumer goods.
Deep High-Tech Finder Tool: Link Business and Investors
The EPO makes it easy to identify European investment-ready startups and major universities in the sector.
Free deep tech finder tools have been updated and include 145 profiles of European startups and universities, accounting for 306 European patent applications in the fields of plastic waste collection, plastic waste recycling and alternative plastics.
EPO offers several technology platforms that allow scientists and researchers to easily explore the Espacenet database, the world’s largest source of freely accessible patent information.
The latest technology platform uses the expertise of EPO and the National Patent Office patent examiner to map technology for plastic waste collection, plastic waste recycling and alternative plastics, providing 70 searchable technical areas.
In doing so, EPO aims to increase patent knowledge accessibility and further promote innovation in these areas.
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