About The Circular Economy Innovation Competition

The Western Placer Waste Management Authority (WPWMA) is powering the Circular Economy Innovation Competition for its third year. The competition invites innovators, researchers, and entrepreneurs to turn waste into repurposed value. WPWMA is on a mission to find innovators and entrepreneurs that can find a way to utilize recoverable waste products in their waste streams that are otherwise going un-utilized (ending up in the landfill).

Participants will have the opportunity to showcase their ideas/innovations, receive mentorship to bring their visions to life and compete for cash and in-kind awards.

2025 Winner: CRDC Global

After the judges deliberated, CRDC Global was announced as the winner of:

• $20,000 Cash Prize

• In-kind Services: Strategic Vision & Execution Planning with Mike Brown, Pinnacle Business Guide

CRDC GLOBAL is changing the destiny of hard-to-recycle plastic waste in North America with RESIN8™ recycled content, a new category of green building materials that lightens the environmental footprint of plastic disposal, so people and planet can prosper. (Ross Gibby)

Winners of Innovator Award;

In a tie for the $1,000 Innovator Award: Lorna M Designs and FLUID

- Lorna M Designs: transforms reclaimed textiles like jeans, tablecloths, and bicycle inner tubes into stylish, functional fashion bags and clothing. (Lorna Miser)
- FLUID: transforms through innovative systems, we repurpose textiles into pet beds, donate usable items, and responsibly dispose of waste, reducing landfill impact and fostering sustainable habits. (Teresa Delgado)

Our 2025 Finalists

Here are the Circular Economy Innovation Competition Finalists for 2025! Ninefinalists were selected to take the stage and compete for $20K in cash awards from the Western Placer Waste Management Authority as well as in-kind support from Mike Brown, CEO of Impact Grove Corporation.

Our Finalists:
- Biochosen: turns organic waste into biodegradable and compostable packaging materials. (Mohammad Tajparast)
- TerraNova Bio: is revolutionizing polyurethane (PUR) recycling with a sustainable solution. (Jacob Somera)
- Ecofirebuster: is a next-generation, biodegradable wildfire retardant that leverages nanotechnology and circular economy principles by integrating waste-derived biochar and eco-friendly biopolymers. (Lakpa Sherpa)
- ENTEIN Alternative: grows high quality black soldier fly larvae as animal feed and pet food protein supplements. (William Burns)
- EcoAct Tanzania: Developed a chemical free technology to convert ocean waste plastics and post-consumer packaging waste into quality sustainable materials for furniture, building and construction applications (Christian M.)
- CRDC GLOBAL: is changing the destiny of hard-to-recycle plastic waste in North America with RESIN8™ recycled content, a new category of green building materials that lightens the environmental footprint of plastic disposal, so people and planet can prosper. (Ross Gibby)
- Nexstera Tech: the future of unified waste intelligence. With AI-driven detection, we cut contamination, prevent overfill, and ensure enforcement where it matters. (Penny Lane Case)
- Lorna M Designs: transforms reclaimed textiles like jeans, tablecloths, and bicycle inner tubes into stylish, functional fashion bags and clothing. (Lorna Miser)
- FLUID: transforms through innovative systems, we repurpose textiles into pet beds, donate usable items, and responsibly dispose of waste, reducing landfill impact and fostering sustainable habits. (Teresa Delgado)

Join us on April 16th to hear them pitch and compete for the prize money!

About The Western Placer Waste Management Authority (WPWMA)

The Western Placer Waste Management Authority (WPWMA)s mission is to create solutions and transform waste into a resource for a sustainable environment and prosperous economy. The WPWMA’s communities use a mixed waste approach to recycling – where residents and businesses toss all waste in a single bin that is sorted for recyclable and compostable materials for them at the WPWMA’s Materials Recovery Facility. As recycling markets can be volatile and demands for non-traditional recyclable materials arise, the WPWMA has been able to quickly adapt – “mining” through the entire waste stream for valuable commodities and items that many may not assume are “recyclable.”