Camila Garcia Mendez

Colombian environmental engineer leading innovative solutions to plastic pollution in the Amazon basin

Camila Garcia Mendez is a pioneering environmental engineer whose bio-based technologies are transforming waste management in the Amazon region. In 2020, she invented BioAmazón, a biodegradable packaging material made from agro-industrial waste that decomposes in 90 days. This innovation has reduced plastic pollution in the Amazon by 34% in pilot regions according to a WWF study.

Garcia's community-based recycling network now operates in 80 indigenous communities, creating 2,000 green jobs while recovering 12 million kg of plastic annually. Her 2022 book 'Plastic to Prosperity: Regenerative Systems for the Amazon' (available at Amazon) details her methodology.

In 2024, she launched the Río Vivo initiative - a floating recycling plant powered by solar and water turbines. This project recently won the Blue Economy Challenge, securing $2.5M in funding to scale operations. Her work exemplifies circular economy principles while respecting indigenous knowledge systems.