Invest Puerto Rico teams with Newlab to transform island’s waste into value added products

In Puerto Rico, Invest Puerto Rico (InvestPR), the island’s business attraction organization, in strategic partnership with Newlab, a renowned center of invention based in Brooklyn, NY, will establish an innovative project to convert unmanaged or landfilled items, such as sargassum seaweed, plastics and tires, into new value-added products. The island is grappling with an unprecedented waste crisis, with 29 operating landfills and more waste generated per capita than the U.S. average. Invest Puerto Rico and Newlab are recruiting entrepreneurs and early-stage companies to pilot innovative waste conversion solutions. Through technology and collaboration, the partners will unlock the potential for renewable life cycles of materials, such as end-of-life tires, waste plastics and sargassum seaweed. Sargassum is a seaweed whose excess accumulation in recent years is affecting the coastal ecosystems and communities of Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands, Mexico and Florida that has the potential to be converted into bio-based plastics, fibers and other materials. Tires are a damaging waste stream in Puerto Rico, with up to 18,000 tires being disposed daily on the island. The project aims to transform discarded tires into valuable resources, reduce landfill waste and contribute to a circular economy. There are significant import and export constraints on the island for plastics. By harnessing advancements in recycling technologies and circular design principles, the partners seek to make plastic recycling viable in Puerto Rico to alleviate the plastic waste issue and reduce dependency on imports. Through research, stakeholder engagement and market analysis, Newlab is opening the door to new markets and contributing to a more sustainable Puerto Rico.