The time has come to change our mindset, we can’t keep living in a world dominated by plastics that gets dirtier by the day. It’s time to let go of old habits, even if we love them, and look ahead, toward a cleaner future where taking care of the planet is at the top of our priorities list.

Beyond the need to innovate, plastic waste is very difficult to extract and remove from nature. You probably know it takes hundreds of years to fully break down and that there are places on the map where plastic islands float on the sea.

That’s why creating effective waste removal methods is urgent for society. But… what if we could combine that need with the generation of renewable energy? What if we told you we could kill two birds with one stone, generating renewable energy and reducing single-use plastic consumption all at once?

Well, this invention fits in a shoebox and could literally change everything. And the best part is that it doesn’t come from a multinational company, but from a retired engineer with a restless mind and a desire to transform the world as we know it.

The invention

It’s been named CarisMatic, and it aims to be an energy transformer from within our own homes. Created by Dan Caris, a man tired of not being able to recycle all the waste we believe is recyclable, so more than a decade ago he set out to create a device that not only harnesses energy from plastic, but does so efficiently and with virtually no emissions.

But how does it work?

It’s like a small home power plant. The generator is made up of up to ten independent systems, integrating electrochemical, thermal, and mechanical processes. The plastic we use daily and throw away as soon as we’re done with it is pulverized and heated in a ceramic chamber until it generates steam, which then drives a bladeless turbine based on a Nikola Tesla patent. That turbine converts the steam into electricity.

Then, the material is broken down at the molecular level and combined with a carbon capture system, a technology commonly used in the most polluting industries, but applied here on a domestic scale.

Will it be commercialized?

That’s the idea, of course. The current prototype’s capacity to generate electricity from grams of recycled plastic hasn’t been specified yet, so the plan to manufacture the first units for sale is still far from finalized. We’ll have to wait for some of these minor details to be resolved and for it to be optimized for even greater usefulness.

Will it work?

At first, it’s believed the energy produced could power a home’s electricity overnight, for example, or charge an electric vehicle’s battery. In the future, this invention is expected to be reinvented in larger versions to be installed at an industrial level.

Other similar inventions

As mentioned before, the ocean is one of the ecosystems most affected by plastic pollution, and several projects aim to convert floating trash into energy directly at sea. Some vessels are already powered by hydrothermal liquefaction using plastics collected from the ocean. An incredible invention to gradually clean our oceans.

How much plastic is on our planet?

Every day, the world generates approximately 1 billion kilograms of plastic waste, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Of that amount, over 8 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans each year, which equals nearly one garbage truck per minute dumping waste into the sea. And the numbers are, to say the least, grim, since less than 10% of produced plastic is effectively recycled, making single-use plastic one of the greatest environmental challenges we face today.

Little by little, we have to start adapting our routines to new technologies in order to leave behind a world that’s as liveable and clean as possible. And, as always, what better place to start than at home?