EcoBricks Founder Shervin Sharghy Named Spirit of Hong Kong Awards Finalist

Shervin Sharghy, founder of Hong Kong-based EcoBricks, is a finalist for the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award in this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, while building a business that turns plastic waste into concrete paving and wall blocks.

A business question before a technical one

Sharghy, a former investment banker who left banking, takes a practical approach to plastic recycling. He first asks whether recycling plastic makes financial sense before tackling the technical challenges involved.

The founder’s approach is based on his view that the biggest obstacle to recycling plastic is often economic rather than scientific. Collecting, sorting, cleaning and processing waste plastic typically costs more than producing new materials from oil and gas.

That cost difference is particularly significant at the small scale at which most recyclers operate. It means that finding a commercially workable model is central to the effort, alongside addressing the technical demands of processing waste.

Turning waste into building materials

EcoBricks is building that model by converting plastic waste into concrete paving and wall blocks. The venture is based in Hong Kong.

Sharghy’s work has also placed him among the finalists for the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award in this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards. The awards are co-organised by Sino Group and the South China Morning Post.

Source: South China Morning Post