PulpaTronics, under the leadership of Chloe So and Soma Biro, has come up with an innovative solution to the huge amount of waste produced each year by Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. Every RFID tag has a computer chip and a small metal strip antenna and over 18 billion of these tags are produced annually and then disposed of. However, PulpaTronics has found a unique way to make these tags using paper rather than plastic, chips or metal strips. They have been shortlisted for the Green Alley Award in recognition of their efforts towards sustainability.
Through the use of lasers on paper and creating a pattern on its surface that can be read by scanners, PulpaTronics eliminated both chips and metal antennae in their RFID tags. There are actually two versions of these tags; one has a microchip that can still be read by a scanner while the other advanced version does not have a chip and uses a different kind of scanner. The cost of both of these versions of RFID tags is significantly cheaper than the current RFID tags on the market and saves a lot of carbon in manufacturing. This has turned out as a viable solution from a sustainability perspective, which has intrigued big brands such as Marks & Spencer, UPS, Coca-Cola and DHL to work with PulpaTronics.
So and Biro met while part of Imperial’s Innovation Design Engineering double Master’s programme – a collaboration between the Imperial College of London and the Royal College of Art – and focused on solutions that helped reduce the human impact on the planet with a focus on finding a biodegradable and eco-friendly material that can be used in electronics as well. This led to the idea of diverting their efforts to this avenue, ultimately finding RFID tags as their main innovation because e-waste is not a visible problem like plastic bags.
The company is currently in the development stage, preparing to expand across other materials with bioplastics as the target. However, they remain committed to their sustainability ethos throughout production, aiming to provide future clients with eco-friendly alternatives at an affordable price point
Read the full article on Positive News here: Read More