A blockchain-based platform promises to provide plastics manufacturers a secure, decentralized source of information about the entire plastics value chain, from initial sourcing of resins through waste recovery and sourcing of recycled feedstock. The platform, called Circularise, collects and stores detailed, verified information about a material, component or end product and enables secure sharing along different segments of the supply chain.

The problem

The Circularise team proposes that by allowing secure sharing of information about the plastics product value chain manufacturers can better develop efficient, sustainable processes, eliminate related pollution and avoid further damage to the environment. Achieving sustainability is beneficial for plastics manufacturers in part to satisfy customer demand for sustainable options and in part to reduce unnecessary costs of production. Detailed information about every step of the process is a critical component for understanding the process Source: Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0and to answer questions about everything from the recipe used to create a specific material to the destination of plastic intended for recycling.

This information exists. Throughout the manufacturing process plastics manufacturers maintain extensive records about manufacturing inputs, like resins, and the items manufactured from these inputs. Some information satisfies government regulations. Other information contains company secrets — patented formulas and process steps and conditions, for example. So the problem is making information available to approved users with proper security.

Solution: blockchain technology

Circularise co-founder Jordi de Vos — a self-reported blockchain aficionado — and his colleagues at TUDelft recognized how the requirements of a plastics supply chain information-sharing system matched with advantages of blockchain. A blockchain is decentralized, distributed, resistant to data tampering and autonomously managed by its owners. The technology can expand to include as many participants as necessary. To provide additional security the Circularise team incorporated a technique called smart questioning to execute zero-knowledge proof logic.

“Blockchain can be applied to many challenges in the plastics value chain, such as complex record keeping and tracking of products. Blockchain serves as a less corruptible and better automated alternative to centralized databases,” said de Vos.

About Circularise

Founded in 2016 at TUDelft, Circularise sold its technology to its first two customers in 2017. In 2019, two European plastics manufacturers, DOMO Chemicals and Covestro AG, partnered with Circularise to collaborate further on developing the platform. In October 2019, the company was one of five start-ups, selected from more than 100 entrants, in the BASF — Greentown Labs Circularity Challenge.