The hidden key to a plastic neutral world
Peter Wang Hjemdahl |
TEDxPenn
• March 2019
As soon as he stepped off the car and onto the grounds of Asia’s second-largest landfill, Deonar East in Mumbai, Peter Wang Hjemdahl was met with an arresting view: to one side, towering mountains of plastic, and to the other, the city’s endless, booming urban skyline. It was at that spot that he began a journey two years in the making—to create a global community of conscious consumers, workplaces, and brands going #PlasticNeutral. Through social entrepreneurship, Peter is connecting the growing formalized recycling industry in India with worldwide consumers seeking to reduce their plastic output. The results could start a global movement that will change the way society manages plastic waste. Peter Wang Hjemdahl is the co-founder of rePurpose, a Mumbai-based social enterprise. In May of 2019, the rePurpose team launched reBalance, a platform that allows consumers to make a payment to balance out their individual plastic footprints while supporting waste worker organizations worldwide.