Écologie intégraleEntreprises Grands Partenaires
14 Oct 2026
Icam and Plastic Odyssey Factories (POF) have signed a framework agreement that puts a shared vision into practice: using engineering and simple technologies to deliver concrete solutions tailored to local realities. The partnership is a natural fit, rooted in a strong human connection: Bob Vrignaud, co-founder of Plastic Odyssey, is himself an Icam graduate.
Research & Development: optimizing recycling processes
Plastic Odyssey Factories is an impact company, a subsidiary of the Plastic Odyssey association, born out of its expedition around the world. It is rolling out a network of containerized plastic recycling units, operated as franchises by local entrepreneurs. POF provides turnkey factories along with all the technical and financial support needed to build a profitable business turning plastic waste into locally useful products. To date, 14 factories have been deployed in more than 8 countries, creating 200 formal jobs. The 2030 target: 200 factories, 100,000 tonnes of plastic recycled per year and 10,000 jobs.
The collaboration with Icam begins in the research labs, where Icam faculty researchers and Plastic Odyssey experts are pooling their skills to improve plastic transformation processes. Their work will focus in particular on the energy efficiency of processes, materials and the characterization of recycled plastics, drawing on Icam’s experts and its mechanical and chemical testing capabilities.
From Kinshasa to Manila, Icam takes action worldwide
Building on this scientific momentum, the partnership takes on its full scope internationally, drawing on the school’s global network.
In Kinshasa (DRC), the project is working with ULC-Icam to assess the feasibility of a recycling hub, modeled on Plastic Odyssey’s Recycling FabLab program already operating in Senegal and Nigeria, to train students, teachers and local entrepreneurs in plastic recycling.
In the Philippines, engineering is being put to work in response to the climate emergency: the teams are collaborating with Icam-Ateneo in Manila to design emergency shelters made from recycled plastics, offering a resilient answer to local rehousing needs.
Training tomorrow’s engineers from an integral ecology perspective
The alliance also shapes the education of the next generation of Icam engineers. Third-year students in the International Bachelor program have already designed low-tech machines under real-world constraints. This first co-led experience took place last April, bringing together students from 9 campuses worldwide for a two-day hackathon on plastic recycling challenges set by Plastic Odyssey.
Finally, this growing awareness is becoming part of daily life on Icam’s French campuses, with dedicated spaces for demonstrating, sorting and recovering plastics, involving all students and staff.
Gilles Vandecaveye, Director General of Icam
“The commitment of our students and researchers alongside Plastic Odyssey reflects our determination to educate global citizens who can approach engineering from an integral ecology perspective. By confronting them with concrete recycling challenges in Kinshasa, Manila or on our French campuses, we encourage them to take environmental, social and human issues into account together. This approach enables them to develop engineering that is more frugal, responsible and useful to society, while nurturing their openness to cultural diversity and their ability to imagine, collectively, sustainable and practical solutions.”
Benoît Blancher, CEO of Plastic Odyssey Factories
“Plastic pollution is first and foremost a land-based problem, in places where no recycling system exists. That is what we saw throughout our expedition around the world, and that is where we chose to act: with decentralized recycling factories, set up as close as possible to the waste and run by local entrepreneurs, so that every piece of waste becomes a resource and a job. With Icam, we are training the engineers who can design, improve and operate these factories wherever they are needed.”
