Maybe there’s something in the water up there? Maybe it’s the Ice Roads? Or the geese? Whatever the case may be, our Canadian neighbors are leading the way with innovative environmental pollution solutions!

Last month, eco-friends cheered for 11th grader Daniel Burd and his plastic chomping experiments that won him 1st place in the Canada-wide Science Fair – and rightly so. He figured out a way to significantly speed up the process of plastic decomposition:

It’s In the Bag! Teenager Wins Science Fair, Solves Massive Environmental Problem
Amazing? You bet. But now it’s time to enter the 4th state of matter. Ready? Oh geez, it is quite scary, but our inner geeks cannot resist the coolness factor. Not to mention the enormous impact as an environmental solution. When eco-friends Greenwala and 5 Gyres opened our eyes to the magic of Plasma via Pyrogenesis, we were blinded by the light. Go on, have a look- no sunglasses required.

Plasma - Waste to Energy from 5 Gyres on Vimeo.

5 Gyres, an outstanding organization dedicated to education and action on plastic marine pollution explains:

“The best solution to removing plastic from the 5 gyres is to wait for it to wash ashore on islands. They are the natural nets, with no need for ships to go to sea, no carbon footprint, no harm to marine life. Just stand on the shore and let the plastic come to you.

What do you do with it? One way to look at it is as fuel? Yes, plastic is made from petroleum. Plasma incineration is a new technology from Pyrogenesis that burns at 5000 degrees Celsius. No dioxins and furans form if you quench the outgassing. And those gasses can be used to produce net positive energy.

While we implement source reduction strategies, it’s important to deal with the waste we’ve got. Plasma Waste to Energy is one such solution.”

Could this be the ultimate plastic pollution solution? Remember kids, Plasma can also be used as a very dangerous weapon. And popcorn popper. Anyone remember this?

Editor’s Note: Greenopolis’ parent company Waste Management, is a technology leader in Plasma Gasification. Read more here.