On the edge of Surat, a bustling city on the west coast of India, a brand-new industrial plant has sprung up in just six months. But no toxic fumes seep into the city and no waste is discharged into their river. Instead, the factory takes in plastic waste, breaks it down into chemical building blocks, potentially changing how we recycle plastic forever. This is the dream, that has now become a reality, of Rolex Awards Laureate and tech entrepreneur Miranda Wang.

After years of innovation and determination, her company Novoloop has built a demo plant that has proven their plastic conversion process can be performed in an industrial environment on a continuous 24/7 basis. Partnering with a local chemicals manufacturer, their demo plant in India achieved one hundred hours of continuous operations in 2024: converting post-consumer polyethylene into virginquality materials. This vital milestone gives the green light on scaling their systems commercially in the future, and has global ramifications for humanity’s relationship to waste materials and climate change.

“This smaller, model plant is essentially the blueprint for world-size factories,” says Wang. “They will no longer use fossil fuel to make valuable materials, but instead consume waste, twenty-four seven, fully automated. In the future, we can use this technology to turn the tap off on fossil fuel consumption and make the plastic economy circular.”

In the quest to tackle the recycling crisis, Novoloop are unusual for focusing on this particular class of hard-to-recycle plastic, polyethylene. One of the significant challenges facing the recycling industry is that mechanically recycled plastic is lower quality and has limited commercial uses compared to fossil fuel-derived produced plastic. Globally, 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced every year from virgin fossil fuels, yet less than 9 per cent of plastic is recycled. This leads to more and more waste: oceans, land, and atmosphere are filled with squandered plastic, as drilling for new crude oil and gas continues.

“I have always hated destruction and waste,” says Wang. “My family raised me to love the beauty of nature and I want to protect it.”

Wang founded Novoloop with her business partner Jeanny Yao, who is also her lifelong best friend. Growing up in Canada, Wang and Yao met in their high school’s recycling club. On a day trip to a waste management facility, they were heartbroken to see how inadequate the recycling process really was. They’ve worked together ever since on creating a solution, and remained determined on their mission, despite challenges including fluctuations in the global economy, the COVID lockdown, and personal life changes.

By 2019, Wang and Yao were successfully able to break down polyethylene, an achievement which first earned Wang a Rolex Award. This vote of confidence and support allowed them to iterate, improve, and move forwards on the path to scaling up their process and develop market competitive sustainable materials derived from the waste.

By collaborating with pre-existing industry leaders, Novoloop are aiming to achieve the most real-world impact possible. The chemical building blocks -- “monomers”-- they produce at the demo plant are sent to their partners in China, including the world leader in the polyurethane industry. The monomers are used as raw materials to make an intermediate, known as polyols, and formulated materials, known as thermoplastic polyurethane TPU, which can then be used to make high-quality commercial products like running shoes. Partnerships like this enable them to accelerate commercialization and, therefore, impact.

With the support from the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative and by partnering with leading chemical manufacturers, they were able to build the plant in less than six months, from design through to construction and into continuous operation. With this 70-metric ton per year plant, Novoloop have shown that their process is safe and reliable when scaled up in an industrial environment, and produced tonne-sized samples of their high-purity products.

Their process transforms plastic waste while producing up to 91 per cent less carbon emissions than conventional processes, maintaining competitive quality and cost as fossil-derive plastics. It has been so successful that Novoloop’s plans to expand production are already underway. By 2030, they project converting up to 175,000 tonnes of plastic waste, reducing up to 800,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

Looking ahead further, Wang believes that in one hundred years’ time, humanity’s material production will be completely circular. For the sake of the planet and future generations, she says, it will have to be.

“I have a one-year-old son now, and every day I want to make a better future for him,” says Wang. “We have to believe it’s possible. It’s hard, but when I look at the other people who are working tirelessly for a better future for our planet, and many are part of the Rolex family, whether a mountaineer, conservationist, or entrepreneur, it gives me hope. The future is in our hands.”

ABOUT THE PERPETUAL PLANET INITIATIVE
Rolex celebrates human achievement, recognizing journeys marked by milestones and emotions that culminate in defining moments. Achievement is a path followed towards excellence.

For nearly a century, Rolex has supported pioneering explorers pushing the boundaries of human endeavour to help them achieve countless historic feats. Over time, the company has moved from championing exploration for the sake of discovery to protecting the planet. Through the Perpetual Planet Initiative, Rolex stands alongside explorers, scientists and entrepreneurs, supporting their work to build a better future for all life on earth.

The Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative was launched in 2019 and now has a portfolio of more than 30 partners. It also includes the Rolex Awards, which has supported exceptional individuals spearheading innovative projects for nearly 50 years. The expanding portfolio of partnerships and supported individuals are active in three main focus areas: Oceans; Landscapes; and Science, Health, and Technology.

Rolex supports a wide range of projects in the field of Ocean conservation such as: Mission Blue and Rolex Testimonee Sylvia Earle, dedicated to safeguarding the seas, and contributing to a global movement aiming to protect 30 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2030; conservation photographers Cristina Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen who, across more than 45 expeditions, have documented over 765 species and captured over seven million images; and Coral Gardeners, who are working to transplant resilient corals to reefs and have replanted more than 100,000 coral cuttings in twelve different restoration sites across French Polynesia, Fiji, and Thailand.

The Landscapes roster includes: a strengthened partnership with the National Geographic Society on understanding climate change; Rewilding Argentina and Rewilding Chile, offspring organisations of Tompkins Conservation, which have inspired the protection of 5.6 million hectares of wild landscapes in South America; and Steve Boyes and the Great Spine of Africa series of expeditions, exploring the continent’s major river basins.

Rolex also supports partners in Science, Health, and Technology such as: Andrew Bastawrous, who has screened over 10 million people worldwide for treatable eye conditions; Felix Brooks-church, who is helping to nourish 10 million people a day in Tanzania and Kenya by fortifying staple foods; and Miranda Wang, who is revolutionising plastic recycling.

In addition, Rolex also supports organisations and initiatives fostering the next generation of explorers, scientists and conservationists, such as The Explorers Club and the CERN & Society Foundation.