At 3.00 am, on Thursday night back in 2014, Dr. Porkert was jolted awake by an idea - to find a solution to the problem of microplastics.

"I was already thinking about how to tackle the problem of wastewater pollution with microplastics for a few months when I suddenly had the idea: What if this is possible by an approach via hydrocyclone technology? That night, I sat down and worked on the initial idea."

Feeling very inspired, he began to adapt and develop the technology. "I gathered a team and we first went for start-up competitions and claimed our patents, then finally for the founding of ECOFARIO in 2018."

Today, ECOFARIO can efficiently and cost-effectively filter microplastics from wastewater without actually using a real filter. The regular filter system can't filter out these tiny particles and use a lot of power, so he wanted to use a more sustainable system.

Coming up in this Circular Story

• How ECOFARIO fights microplastic pollution
• What 'circularity' means to them
• Why they consider themselves to be purpose-founders and how this affects company culture, from daily tasks to long term decision-making and financial strategy
• How company values like Trust and Transparency are used to guide towards sustainability, and innovation in close collaboration with partners within the ecosystem
• What you can do yourself about the Microplastic Problem and how to avoid consumption
• Some expert business advice from Dr. Sebastian Porkert himself