Make coastal plastic recovery financially sustainable
Design a system that helps coastal communities collect, sort, and sell recovered plastic with better incentives.
Problem
What needs solving
Plastic recovery efforts often depend on short-term cleanups. Communities need a repeatable model that connects collection, sorting, buyers, and transparent payouts.
Why it matters
The Philippine context
A sustainable recovery system can protect coastal livelihoods while giving residents a reason to keep plastic out of waterways.
Challenge brief
Your task
- *Design the incentive loop for households, collectors, sorters, and buyers.
- *Show how plastic quality, volume, and payout data would be tracked.
- *Account for trust, fraud prevention, and community coordination.
Output
What to submit
- *System model or marketplace flow.
- *Prototype, operations plan, or financial model.
- *Risk notes for fraud, safety, and long-term adoption.
Eligibility
Who can join
- *Open to students in sustainability, business, product, design, or engineering.
- *Community research is welcome but not required.
- *Solutions should avoid unpaid labor assumptions.
Timeline
Important dates
Brief opens
June 15, 2026
Submission deadline
August 2, 2026
Community review
August 12, 2026
Judging
How strong submissions stand out
Sustainability of incentives.
Operational fit for coastal communities.
Clarity of buyer and payout flow.
Environmental and livelihood impact.
Build for the brief, not for a resume screen.
This placeholder page is focused on understanding the problem and reward. Submission actions can be added once the final Challenge PH flow is ready.