Innovative Device to Be Implemented In Laboratory Operations to Reduce Packaging and Other Plastic-Based Waste.
August 6, 2025 – Blue Hill, Maine – The Shaw Institute, a leading scientific research organization studying the impact of pollutants on human and environmental health, is advancing its sustainability and recycling efforts by becoming an early adopter of a Clear Drop Soft Plastic Compactor (SPC) into their laboratory operations.
In addition, as part of the program, Clear Drop is also supporting the Shaw Institute’s ongoing research on how plastic contaminants impact human health, including such diseases as cancer, Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, dementia, and Parkinson’s.
“We are grateful to have the Shaw Institute as one of the first organizations integrating the SPC as a means to reduce their plastic waste by improving their ability to recycle more,” said Ivan Abrouzov, Founder & CEO of Clear Drop. “Our product is a true game changer in the plastic recycling landscape, establishing what we refer to as the ‘pre-recycling’ step, which better prepares waste for collection, transport and processing into new re-usable material. Likewise, their research is groundbreaking, and shows exactly why we must all strive for true circularity. To be collaborating with a great partner toward achieving that goal, and together helping reduce plastic pollution, is exactly why I started the company.”
As part of its ongoing sustainability efforts, the Shaw Institute is interested in reducing the amount of plastic waste generated by its laboratory operations. Much of their instruments and supporting materials come packaged in soft plastic, which typically goes in the trash. The SPC will be employed to collect the material and allow for it to be recycled for the first time, instead of just going to landfill.
“As an organization dedicated to human and environmental health, we’re always seeking new ways to improve our ability to reduce waste and contribute to the concept of circularity,” said Dr. Charlie Rolsky, the Shaw Institute’s Executive Director and Senior Research Scientist. “The Clear Drop SPC certainly appears to be a great new tool to allow us to better do that, so we look forward to using it and seeing what the end results are. The problem of plastic pollution is a multi-cause issue, and it will only be solved through a multi-solution approach. Tools like the SPC are essential to getting us to the finish line.”
The SPC is a smart appliance which looks similar to a high-end trash can. But this is where the similarity ends. Its densifying technology solves a long-standing waste problem by enabling convenient recycling of soft plastic such as product packaging, food wrappers, bubble wrap, shopping bags and more. The SPC is providing consumers and businesses with a device that reduces the volume of soft plastic waste by 90%, and then outputting a block of material that is much better prepared to be recycled.
In addition to their own soft plastic waste, the Institute is also inviting community members to bring in their clean soft plastic waste, which will also be processed into a convenient block and sent off to be recycled. All waste must be dry and reasonably free of any food or other contamination.
For more details on the SPC, click HERE. To learn more about Clear Drop, visit OneClearDrop.com. To learn more about the Shaw Institute, visit ShawInstitute.org.
About the Shaw Institute
Shaw Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit scientific research organization based in Blue Hill, Maine. Established 35 years ago, the Institute’s mission is to work to discover and expose environmental threats to the health and wellbeing of people, wildlife and the environments we all share. Our research on plastics, ocean pollution, marine mammal health, toxic chemicals, and climate change has informed public opinion and influenced public policy, impacting millions of people in Maine, the U.S. and worldwide.
About Clear Drop
Clear Drop® was created to bridge the gap between advanced recycling and everyday life. They’re tackling the waste problem from the source: your kitchen, your office, your routines. Their mission is simple: to make recycling possible, easy, and real. Because right now, most waste, especially soft plastics and organics, rarely gets recycled. It either ends up in landfills or blows across streets and shorelines. They develop smart pre-recycling systems that integrate into your life and actually work, compacting soft plastics, collecting organics, and guaranteeing that everything processed gets recycled through our verified partners or can be composted. It’s a necessary shift, and it’s just beginning.