The Dung Beetle Project (https://dungbeetle.africa/) is an international outreach programme working to create a sustainable new economy powered by plastic. The Dung Beetle Project has attracted a global team of collaborators including NGOs, universities, municipalities, entrepreneurs and scientists all working towards a common goal of addressing one of our planet’s most pressing environmental issues – plastic waste.
The Dung Beetle Project is working with communities around the world to divert waste plastic from landfills and the ocean and turn it into valuable energy people can use today. To make our technology more accessible to the public, we dressed it up with an art sculpture and turned it into a symbol of change. Our art is a Dung Beetle pushing the Earth, made from recycled steel. The sculpture houses a hi-tech gasification system that transforms plastic trash into electrical power and liquid fuels.
In his talk, Jeff Barbee will give background to the Dung Beetle Project and highlight the challenges and successes of developing Open Hardware technologies for sustainable development. He will talk about how innovative, open, grassroots technologies can revolutionize environments and communities.
