Yuen Li Chan, Co-Founder and COO, Phoenix Waste Solutions
Since winning one of Ocean Exchange’s $100,000 grants in 2024, Phoenix Waste Inc. has secured nearly $2 million in non-dilutive funding, including highly competitive awards from the National Science Foundation and a contract with the U.S. Air Force. These accomplishments, along with multiple green innovation accolades, highlight the company’s growing impact in the field and its potential to revolutionize waste management.
Phoenix Waste Solutions has developed a groundbreaking low-carbon waste management technology that reduces municipal waste into 1% non-toxic ash without using fossil fuels. This innovative solution processes mixed solid waste at source, cutting the need for long-haul transportation of waste, reducing CO₂ emissions, and exceeding EPA standards. The result is a cost-effective and sustainable waste management option that is up to 75% cheaper than traditional landfill disposal.
The World Bank estimates approximately 33% of global waste is openly burned or dumped, with low-income countries managing up to 90% of their waste improperly. Studies further estimate that around 80% of the plastic waste entering the ocean via rivers comes from just 1,000 rivers worldwide, mostly in developing countries.
Why Phoenix Waste’s Solution is Different:
- Non-Polluting and Highly Efficient: Phoenix Waste’s zero-fuel furnace uses low-temperature plasma technology to thermally degrade waste at temperatures exceeding 2,000°F, reducing toxins typically associated with combustion. This clean process reduces carbon emissions, and exceeds EPA standards, producing 50% less CO₂ than conventional incinerators and 75% less CO₂ equivalent compared to landfills.
- Affordable and No Fossil Fuels: Phoenix Waste offers municipalities and businesses a cost-effective alternative to landfill disposal, with one unit priced at approximately the same cost as a garbage truck.
- Circular Economy in Action: The Phoenix makes recycling of metal and glass easier, while the ash by-product can be made into pavers and bricks, reducing concrete use by up to 80%. Additionally, the excess heat can be used to co- generate 30 kilowatts of electricity—enough to power 15 homes.
- Localized Waste Processing: Phoenix Waste’s portable furnace breaks down municipal waste, including plastics, food waste and even bio-solids, into just 1% of its original volume, allowing waste to be processed where it is generated.
With commercial models launching Summer 2025, Phoenix Waste is helping communities, nonprofits, and businesses shift from landfill disposal to a regenerative ecosystem, turning waste into a resource while reducing costs and carbon footprint. For more information, visit www.phoenix-waste-solutions.com or contact Yuen Li Chan at chan@phoenix-waste.com and (call/text +1 504 451 1339).
