New Delhi, December 21, 2023: Plastic Fischer has been awarded the Next Economy Award at the 16th German Sustainability Award. The company emerged victorious among 150 applicants, impressing the jury and audience with its operational approach and innovative business model during the final pitch.
Plastic Fischer is a Cologne-based social enterprise that protects ocean biodiversity from plastic pollution. To this end, the start-up has developed a simple and inexpensive technology that effectively stops plastic in rivers. The organisation employs local people to collect the stopped material and prepare it for the best possible recycling in its own sorting facilities.
In early November, the startup achieved the milestone of retrieving 1,000 tons of plastic from rivers in India and Indonesia, processed for optimal results. Plastic Fischer collaborates with over 50 companies, including Allianz, Covestro, and Siemens, along with support from numerous private individuals who share the vision of clean rivers and marine biodiversity conservation.
Karsten Hirsch, Founder and Managing Director of Plastic Fischer, accepted the award saying, "We are delighted to have won this important award from the German Sustainability Award. The Next Economy Award recognizes innovative business models that are designed to advance the "new economy".
He said that his organisation used creative ways to to carry out its work and it was a matter of "proud that more than 50 companies and hundreds of individuals have already decided to support Plastic Fischer's measurable and verified impact."
"Thanks to them and the hard work of almost 90 full-time Plastic Fishers, we were able to fish out and process our thousand ton of plastic this year. We are delighted that their hard work has been recognized with this award and hope that many more companies will join us in taking a stand against greenwashing and for real environmental protection and secure jobs in emerging markets," he added.
Plastic Fischer's aims to to become the world's leading company in preventing the most ocean plastic in the coming years. The German Sustainability Award, acknowledging sustainable companies across categories, stands as one of Europe's largest and most recognized competitions of its kind.
