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In WALL-E, a science fiction movie, a little robot is responsible for cleaning a world covered in garbage; a world where there is no longer room for anything else, not even humans! The film encourages common people, worldwide leaders and businessmen to ask the obvious question: What can be done to prevent something like this happening? For some, microfactories could become the most promising answer.

Veena Sahajwalla, a materials scientist and engineer in Sydney, Australia, has discovered a solution to the challenging waste problem. Her one-stop approach could go beyond the existing recycling processes. Her waste microfactories mainly target electronic waste and plastic, and are essentially little trash processors. These can transform waste into new materials with the help of thermal(热的) technology.

“Using our green manufacturing technologies, these microfactories can transform waste, enabling local businesses and communities to not only solve local waste problems, but to develop a commercial opportunity from the valuable materials that are created,” she explains.

Humans generate 2.01 billion tons of solid waste annually. And as the fastest growing waste stream, approximately 53.6 million tons of e-waste were generated globally by 2019. Despite current efforts, only 17.4 percent of this is known to have been collected and properly recycled. Meanwhile, worldwide e-waste generation is expected to continue to grow, reaching almost 80 million tons by 2030.

Although the most effective solution to the waste challenges would not generate as much trash, Sahajwalla microfactories provide hope for all the waste that already exists. Her solution not only decreases the amount of waste, but it also improves its management and enables new manufacturing opportunities around the new materials created.

WALL-E shows us the best and the worst of what human beings have to offer. It shows where the world is headed unless the human species slows down and stops developing at the current pace. But it also provides hope, showing that we also have a great power to change and improve.