Dear dedicated Lasso Loopers,
Our Lasso Loop Recycling System features a brand-new high-performance, closed-loop recycling appliance; however, most people may be unaware of our long-term plan. This letter will outline the three main facets of our master plan: replacing every recycling bin on planet Earth, making Lasso accessible for every home, and increasing the different types of materials that the Lasso accepts.
A Bit About Me
For the past 40-odd years, my day job has been in mechanical engineering and small business software development. Back in 1993, I was struggling with a data corruption problem at work. Later that evening when I was taking out my recycling bin at home, I realized there was a similar, used-material corruption problem facing our recycling system. Much like my software data issue, the system didn’t work and recycling needed to be rethought. This is what sparked my passion for changing the world of recycling and ultimately led me to devise the Lasso.
At first, I was the primary funding source for the project as I built out our long-term business plan. Luckily for me, I wasn’t always alone, and Lasso Loop successfully raised our first round of funding through a CrowdCube crowdfunding campaign in May 2019. But that was just the start of Lasso’s journey… Now that Lasso is gaining more momentum, we are eagerly looking forward to the future and what that means for the company and the future of recycling; our master plan, if you will.
Why Lasso
The overarching purpose of Lasso is to deliver a new, smart domestic recycling system that closed-loop recycles your valuable used containers and materials. In the current curbside recycling model, more than 80%1 of what you put in your recycling bin ends up either sent straight to landfills, incinerated, “downcycled” into less valuable products or shipped across seas and mostly end up in our oceans.
The Lasso appliance will deliver a domestic system of closed-loop recycling, a critical component of the circular economy, ensuring used materials retain their original value. This happens by processing them into pure end-products that can then be sold directly to manufacturers.
Imagine a world where recycling is not only easy and effective but also provides you with direct monetary compensation for your used materials…
Having a Lasso in homes will outperform every current domestic recycling system, even those in the best recycling countries in the world - Germany, Austria, and South Korea2. Those “in the loop” will facilitate 100% recycling of all accepted materials, in a closed-loop system. This helps to reduce CO2 emissions and prevent more valuable resources from heading to landfills. Furthermore, the Lasso will be the only home appliance that will produce a carbon-negative footprint, making your home all that much more environmentally conscious.
Lasso’s Everywhere All At Once
Ultimately, we are striving to revolutionize recycling everywhere, meaning we are working to replace every recycling bin worldwide with a Lasso domestic or commercial recycling appliance. The more Lassos in homes, the more closed-loop recycling is taking place, and the more money goes directly into the hands of Lasso users.
By replacing the current curbside recycling system, we can ensure that used materials are processed successfully assisting in delivering the circular economy on a global scale. Currently, putting your used materials in your recycling bin is the equivalent of essentially throwing your money away.
A closed-loop system will guarantee that our valuable used materials are actually recycled. This ensures materials are given another life, avoiding the current fate of potentially polluting our environment, ending up in landfills, or releasing CO2 in the manufacturing process. Not only is this better for our environment, but also more fiscally responsible; keeping the monetary value of our used materials where it belongs, with you, instead of in the trash.
Where To Start…
The task of revolutionizing the world of recycling may seem daunting, but with Lasso, there is no need to worry because the revolution is happening all around us. To start, Lasso is working to bring recycling to you, eliminating the need for the current, broken system. Rather than using curbside recycling, Lasso does the complex work of a full-scale recycling facility but on a smaller and much more efficient and cost-effective scale.
By using Lasso, you are able to streamline the recycling process, having your used materials scanned, cleaned, and processed, separately, all in one place. This is valuable because it reduces transportation costs, human touchpoints, and CO2 emissions. The processed end-products are then stored separately as well, ensuring purity and therefore avoiding any material contamination.
A common request from recycling enthusiasts is for Lasso appliances to be placed at locations where more materials could be processed, such as apartment buildings, restaurants, schools, parks, and other public places. In other words, larger-scale used-material sites would be a better opportunity for greater impact. This would indeed be ideal, however, the most important aspect of closed-loop recycling is avoiding contamination. In many areas of high traffic, a specialized Lasso appliance would need to be adapted and redeveloped, which takes time and money. After the domestic appliance is established, we plan to build out these commercial models next. Initially launching Lasso in homes that are committed to recycling, guarantees success.
One of the downsides of our current system is the inherent contamination of materials. When our recyclables are combined in our curbside bin, they cannot be easily or efficiently separated. Think of it like this, after making a cake batter, you wouldn’t be able to pull each individual ingredient back out, would you? The same goes for our recycling. However, when we use Lasso in our homes, it becomes the recycling facility, rather than outsourcing the work to others and leaving us wondering what is actually being recycled.
Lasso is building an easy-to-use, effective, and carbon-negative recycling system that provides all of us with the peace of mind we’ve been waiting for.
The Future of Lasso
Currently, the Lasso will start by accepting around 80% of recyclables that come out of your kitchen. Moving forward, Lasso is creating more opportunities to eliminate waste, building on our current model and releasing new, updated versions to process even more used materials.
Imagine being able to easily recycle paper, cardboard, plastic film packaging, and even food scraps, all in one place! That is the reality where Lasso is headed, taking on even more than just the seven most valuable household recyclable materials. With each successive model, Lasso is striving to process more, keeping up with our fast-paced lifestyles while simultaneously tackling the world's waste problem.
Lasso For Everyone
In addition to innovative and progressive models of the Lasso appliance, our team is building yet another way for our reach to be more attainable.
A priority in the Lasso mission is to make the circular economy as accessible as possible. In order to achieve this, Lasso will also be launching a service model. This will allow users to pay a subscription fee rather than an upfront purchase cost.
In a world with unlimited streaming services, food delivery subscriptions, and other kinds of payment options, why couldn’t Lasso do the same? It will! Offering a service model brings us one step closer to delivering a closed-loop recycling solution to the world, making the circular economy achievable for anyone.
It’s vital that we mobilize and fight for our planet now. The closed-loop recycling revolution and solution is ready to activate, taking on our waste and bringing forth the reality we all deserve: an economically and environmentally self-sustaining system.
Sustainably yours,
Aldous
Founder + CEO
♻️ Are you with me? ♻️
Let’s change the world of recycling together! 🌎
Stay in the “loop” by following us on social media, or even pre-ordering your Lasso today!
Sources:
1. https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials#Recycling
2. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/12/germany-recycles-more-than-any-other-country/#:~:text=Germany%20has%20the%20best%20recycling,half%20of%20its%20municipal%20waste
