前投资银行家沙维恩·沙尔吉采取务实的塑料回收方式，先考虑其是否在财务上合理，再应对技术挑战。
Former investment banker Shervin Sharghy takes a practical approach to plastic recycling, first asking whether it makes financial sense before tackling the technical challenges.
香港EcoBricks公司的创始人表示，塑料回收的主要障碍往往是经济问题而非科学问题。
The founder of Hong Kong-based EcoBricks said the main obstacle to recycling plastic was often economic rather than scientific.
收集、分类、清洁和加工废塑料的成本通常高于从石油和天然气生产新材料的成本，尤其是在大多数回收企业运营的小规模情况下。
Collecting, sorting, cleaning and processing waste plastic typically costs more than producing new materials from oil and gas, particularly at the small scale at which most recyclers operate.
沙尔吉是今年由信和集团和《南华早报》共同主办的“香港精神奖”中“创业精神奖”的决赛入围者。
Sharghy is a finalist for the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award in this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, co-organised by Sino Group and the South China Morning Post.
他在离开投资银行业后创立了EcoBricks，旨在帮助应对全球塑料废弃物危机。
He founded EcoBricks after leaving investment banking to help tackle the global plastic waste crisis.
该公司将塑料废弃物转化为混凝土——世界上使用最广泛的材料。它在香港生产经过全面认证的混凝土路面砖和墙体砖，有助于减少废弃物和碳排放。
The company turns plastic waste into concrete, the world’s most widely used material. It manufactures fully certified concrete paving and wall blocks in Hong Kong, helping to reduce waste and carbon emissions.
“第一步是证明存在一个可持续的商业模式，”他说。“可持续的解决方案随后才会出现。”公司在进行技术研究的同时，也制定了详细的财务模型。一旦证明该技术在商业和技术上都是可行的，种子基金便使其能够建立试点设施并在工业规模上生产砖块。
“The first step was to prove that there is a sustainable business model,” he said. “Sustainable solutions come after.”The company developed detailed financial models alongside its technical research. Once it had demonstrated that the technology was commercially and technically viable, seed funding enabled it to establish a pilot facility and produce bricks on an industrial scale.
EcoBricks认为，客户不应为环境效益付出额外费用。它在成本和质量上与传统材料竞争，同时帮助客户减少废弃物、降低成本并实现其可持续发展目标。
EcoBricks believes customers should not have to pay extra for environmental benefits. It competes with conventional materials on cost and quality while helping customers reduce waste, cut costs and meet their sustainability goals.
客户可以将混凝土、玻璃、陶瓷和塑料送至其设施进行回收，从而降低处置成本。随后，他们可以购买由自身废弃物制成的产品。
Customers can send concrete, glass, ceramics and plastic to its facility for recycling, lowering their disposal costs. They can then buy products made from their own waste.
“我想先为他们解决一个问题。这不仅仅是‘买我的砖’，而是‘让我帮你解决一个问题’。我们认为可持续发展应该是双赢的。” Sino Group 是早期的商业客户，其位于屯门的金海岸项目曾作为测试场地。
“I want to solve a problem for them first. It’s not just a case of ‘buy my brick’. It’s ‘let me help you to solve a problem’. We believe that sustainability should be a win-win.”Sino Group was an early commercial customer, with its Gold Coast development in Tuen Mun serving as a testing ground.
Sharghy 表示，大约 700 块砖的初步安装在 2022 年 1 月安装约 15,000 块砖之前，曾被监测了数月。经过数年的监测后，现在有更大面积的区域已被 EcoBricks 铺设。
Sharghy said an initial installation of about 700 bricks was monitored for several months before about 15,000 were installed in January 2022. Following several years of monitoring, a much larger area has now been paved with EcoBricks.
该公司的冷工艺可以处理传统回收商拒绝的混合塑料和材料。因此，它可以与现有的收集和分类系统协同工作，利用那些否则可能最终进入垃圾填埋场、焚烧炉或香港自然环境中的加工塑料。
The company’s cold process can handle mixed plastics and materials rejected by conventional recyclers. It can therefore work with existing collection and sorting systems, using processed plastic that might otherwise end up in landfills, incinerators or Hong Kong’s natural environment.
该公司还考虑了其产品寿命结束后会发生什么。Sharghy 表示，使用过的 EcoBricks 可以完全回收再制成新的砖块，他认为这一能力对于保持材料在使用中而非被丢弃至关重要。
The company has also considered what happens when its products reach the end of their useful lives. Sharghy said used EcoBricks could be recycled entirely into new ones, a capability he regarded as essential to keeping materials in use rather than discarding them.
然而，在香港制造仍面临挑战。合适的工业用地稀缺且昂贵，而重型机械需要空间、电力和适当的土地使用许可。
Manufacturing in Hong Kong nevertheless presents challenges. Suitable industrial sites are scarce and expensive, while heavy machinery requires space, power and appropriate land-use permissions.
但 Sharghy 表示，这座城市也为早期阶段将新技术推向市场的企业提供了优势。其紧凑的市场以及对政府、主要企业和决策者的便捷接入，有助于新想法快速获得关注。
But Sharghy said the city also offered advantages for an early-stage venture bringing new technology to market. Its compact market and access to government, major businesses and decision makers could help new ideas gain traction quickly.
“很多人问我们为什么选择在香港成立公司。真正重要的是生态系统、基础设施以及产业、政府和初创企业之间的关系，”他说。
“A lot of people ask us why we set up our company in Hong Kong. What really matters is the ecosystem, the infrastructure and the relationship between industry, government and start-ups,” he said.
他补充说，香港严格的建筑标准和国际知名的客户也有助于在面向海外市场时建立 EcoBricks 的可信度。
He added that Hong Kong’s stringent building standards and internationally renowned clients also helped establish EcoBricks’ credibility when approaching overseas markets.
为满足客户需求，该公司已将业务从户外铺装扩展至提供防火认证的内墙砖。它还在开发多种产品，以帮助回收更多香港的废弃物。
In response to customer demand, the company has expanded beyond outdoor paving to offer fire-certified internal wall blocks. It is also developing several products to help recycle more of Hong Kong’s waste.
沙尔吉表示，当客户也能从使用可持续材料中获得明确的经济激励时，这些材料更有可能获得接受。“这样做既有利于您的业务，也有利于地球，”他说。
Sharghy said sustainable materials were more likely to gain acceptance when customers also had a clear financial incentive to use them. “Do it because it’s good for your business and it’s good for the planet,” he said.
香港精神奖成立于2013年，旨在表彰那些默默奉献、其工作否则可能被公众忽视的香港无名英雄和组织。
The Spirit of Hong Kong Awards were established in 2013 to recognise the city’s unsung heroes and organisations whose work might otherwise escape public attention.