Western Placer Waste Management Authority (WPWMA) is forging the path to a more sustainable future. “We are partnering with the Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Sacramento State University to create an Innovation Lab that will help make a local circular economy a reality,” says Emily Hoffman, WPWMA public information officer.
“We are partnering with the Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Sacramento State University to create an Innovation Lab that will help make a local circular economy a reality.” — Emily Hoffman, Public Information Officer, WPWMA
A circular economy refers to infinite recycling possibilities of everyday materials, wherein items would be manufactured from materials designed to have extended lifespans and could be repeatedly transformed into new products. “With traditional recycling, if a product can even be recycled, it’s only once or twice and then eventually ends up in a landfill, so a circular economy is revolutionary in concept,” says Hoffman. “We are now taking the lead to make it happen.”
The Innovation Lab, to be located on the WPWMA’s campus in Placer County, will infuse the brightest and most creative educators, engineers and entrepreneurs with inspiration and funding opportunities. The lab is intended to serve as a business accelerator and to replicate the real working world, offer experiential learning opportunities, and provide a hands-on living manufacturing laboratory for Sac State faculty, students and local entrepreneurs and businesses.
“Creating a circular economy has been theoretical thus far, but going forward, it will be supported through hands-on R&D, dedicated academic research and trial and error, all supported by access to the materials on our campus that currently may not be recycled but could be with dedicated attention to innovation,” says Hoffman.
In addition to supporting new and emerging methods of recycling and energy creation, the WPWMA is also recruiting existing recycling businesses and manufacturers to move onto their campus, providing them with materials close at hand for their operations. “Inviting businesses to locate here repurposes what would otherwise end up in our landfill or require transportation elsewhere — a win for our local economy and the environment,” says Hoffman.
Approved by the WPWMA board of directors in October 2024, the Innovation Lab holds vast promise. By fall 2025, the lab will be fully realized with Sac State faculty research underway for a brighter future for all.
