FuturePlay Successfully Hosts Webinar on the Future of Waste Management

Solutions Presented: Biodegradable Polymer Technology, Chemical Recycling, Biological Treatment, and Waste Resource Recovery

Accelerator FuturePlay (CEO Ryu Jung-hee) announced on the 1st that it successfully held the webinar "FutureMap EP1: The Future of Waste Management," themed "Technologies of Startups and Large Corporations for Solving Waste Problems." Photo by FuturePlay

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Accelerator FuturePlay (CEO Ryu Junghui) announced on the 1st that it successfully held the webinar "FutureMap EP1: The Future of Waste Treatment," themed "Technologies of Startups and Large Corporations for Solving Waste Problems."

FuturePlay focused on the serious social issue of waste treatment and hosted the webinar to hear on-site voices from large corporations, mid-sized companies, and startups in areas where they can provide solutions. The webinar primarily discussed the four promising technology fields for waste treatment proposed by FuturePlay, as well as collaboration methods between companies and the government to solve waste problems.

The panel consisted of experts from large corporations, startups, and academia with expertise in eco-friendly and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) fields, including Kim Byungkwon, Head of SK Ecoplant OTO Center; Kim Buyeol, Professor at Seoul National University Graduate School of Environmental Studies; Kim Geunho, CEO of Rico; Yoo Suyeon, CEO of Tecoplus; Kwon Soonbeom, CEO of EQub Lab; and FuturePlay’s Strategy Planning Team Lead Ahn Jiyoon and Senior Evaluator Shin Chaeho.

Additionally, over 100 key figures from large corporations and startups across various industries such as environment, energy, construction, and delivery services joined in real-time to explore collaboration opportunities and investment prospects in the future waste treatment technology sector.

Ahn Jiyoon, Strategy Planning Team Lead at FuturePlay, who presented on "Current Status and Future Opportunity Analysis of Waste Treatment," emphasized that the annually increasing waste volume by 40% can no longer be resolved solely through incineration and landfill methods. She explained that as the time has come to consider better waste treatment methods, four solutions are newly gaining attention: ▲biodegradable polymer technology ▲chemical recycling ▲biological treatment ▲waste resource recovery.

In the panel talk, Kim Byungkwon, Head of SK Ecoplant OTO Center, stated, "We are working on securing environmental infrastructure that enables proper treatment from the generation of waste to the moment it is landfilled," adding, "If the infrastructure of large corporations meets the rapid execution capabilities of startups, meaningful technologies can be discovered and implemented in the waste treatment market."

Ryu Junghui, CEO of FuturePlay, said, "We planned this webinar to share FuturePlay’s unique research results on waste treatment issues and to consider solutions to waste problems together with large corporations, mid-sized companies, and unicorn companies," adding, "We will continue to actively respond to the changing market and conduct research on various technologies that solve social problems."