A hacking marathon or hackathon is a social coding event that brings computer programmers and other interested people together to improve upon or build a new software program.
The Plastic is Forever hackathon took place in June 2022 during Plastics Forum of the face-to-face segment of the meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (2021/2022 BRS COPs).
The aim of the event was to
- bring the issue of plastic waste pollution to the forefront of the news agenda;
- accelerate the speed of R&D in the field of plastic waste management; and
- create a hub for plastic waste solutions by connecting up-and-coming innovators and enabling them to present their ideas to a wide audience of policymakers and experts.
Before the hackathon, teams participated in the SDG Innovation Bootcamp to familiarise themselves with hackathon methodologies and the work of the United Nations on the Agenda 2030.