March is a time for many things. We push the clocks an hour forward, suffer from pollen in the air, and many Americans celebrate cultural and religious holidays, including Holi, Purim, International Women’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Palm Sunday. March is also a time for a progress report!
For Empowered Solutions for Environmental Sustainability (ESES), it’s a time to collect our thoughts, reflect on the past few months, and get ready for our upcoming annual summer research trip to Africa. This also gives us a chance to let our friends, followers, and donors know what our team has been working on and what we are planning for the upcoming year.
Read on to see progress reports regarding international travel, processor and laboratory updates, and social media growth analytics!
International Travel – Kenya!
This year, our research team is going back to Kenya. We have two destinations in mind: Nairobi, Kenya, to follow up with our contacts at the Treeside Special School, and Mombasa, Kenya, to deploy a new processor and connect with local stakeholders.
Mombasa, Kenya, is on the coast of the Indian Ocean, making it our first coastal town that would have the processor. It is the second-largest city in Kenya, after Nairobi, and has a large fishing population, both commercial and recreational. ESES hopes to connect with local fishers and build rapport to fight plastic pollution on the coast.
Read about why fighting ocean plastic is on ESES’ to-do list: https://eses-plastic.org/blog/plastic-pollution-in-the-ocean-and-why-it-matters/
Poly3.0 – Our newest Processor Prototype
Our engineers at ESES have been hard at work developing a new prototype for our polyfuel processor. This new prototype, dubbed Poly3.0, represents a major leap forward in community-based plastic-to-fuel technology. While smaller in size, this new system delivers impressive improvements in efficiency, cost, and scalability.
Smaller Processor, Bigger Impact
At first glance, Poly3.0 may seem modest compared to Poly2.0 or other previous models. Its reactor volume is only 2 liters, compared to 30 liters in its predecessors. However, this smaller design enables one of its most important innovations not possible in other models.
Our engineers have innovated a way for Poly3.0 to be refilled with plastic while running, while still maintaining peak thermal efficiency throughout operation. Rather than losing heat between runs, and therefore losing precious money and electricity, it sustains maximum heat flux to the reactor. This means the longer Poly3.0 runs, the more efficient she becomes!
Energy Consumption vs. Production
Despite the reduced size, Poly3.0 produces approximately 195 mL of fuel per hour, slightly outperforming Poly2.0’s 186 mL per hour. However, the most striking difference lies in energy consumption.
Poly2.0 requires 3.0 kW of power, whereas Poly3.0 requires only 0.9 kW of power. This is a 70% reduction in energy usage. For communities where electricity is limited or expensive, this reduction is transformative.
Improved Profitability and Accessibility
Efficiency gains through reduced power usage and increased fuel output translate directly into economic benefits.
Poly3.0 increases profit margins from 0.18 USD per hour (Poly2.0) to 0.22 per hour (Poly3.0). While four cents per hour may seem negligible, over long operating periods in countries with lower GDP, this increase becomes significant.
Additionally, Poly3.0 costs less than half as much to build, is smaller and lighter, and is easier to transport and deploy. This will be truly tested during our trip to Kenya this summer, so our engineers are continuing to iron out any wrinkles found in testing.
ESES’ new plastic shredder
Because Poly3.0 has such a small reactor capacity, our engineers must maximize the amount of plastic input during tests. Therefore, ESES has acquired a plastic shredder. This shredder allows our engineers to shred large chunks of plastic into fine microplastic particles.
These particles can then be scooped up and poured directly into Poly3.0’s reactor, allowing for swift refills. This may seem like a small addition, but this shredder can save countless minutes and even hours for our engineers, where they would otherwise be manually cutting up hard plastic pieces to jam into the processor’s reactor.
Read about what types of plastic our processor can turn into Polyfuel: https://eses-plastic.org/what-is-pdfo/
Social Media and Outreach Growth
Our engineers haven’t been the only ones hard at work here at ESES. Our social media accounts have seen considerably higher engagement in 2026 compared to this time last year.
As of March 5th, our Instagram account, @esesplastic, has seen a 27% increase in accounts reached (compared to the end of 2025). Accounts reached means how many unique accounts have viewed our content (reels, posts, and stories). We have also gained 9 new followers during the new year, putting us at the brink of 200 followers. Our goal is to hit 300 followers on Instagram before the end of the summer research trip (approx. late June/early July).
Our TikTok account, @esesplastic, has also seen measurable growth in our audience reach. Over the past 8 weeks (end of December 2025 to March 5th), video views (how many unique accounts have viewed our videos/photos posted) jumped 76.64%, and profile views (how many unique accounts click on our profile) shot up 115% from last year. Our most popular video got 1.2k views, and our account gained 6 new followers during the new year, putting us at 161 followers as of March 5th. Our goal is to hit 200 followers on TikTok before the end of the summer research trip.
ESES’ website has also seen an increase in traffic. Our visitor count has jumped 53% since last year, and we are receiving visitors from all over the world, including Norway, Germany, China, and South Korea.
Conclusion
As spring unfolds and preparations continue for our summer research trip, the ESES team is excited about the progress made so far in 2026. From engineering advancements to growing our online fanbase, each step brings us closer to our goal of making plastic-to-fuel technology more accessible and affordable for developing communities around the world.
Our upcoming trip to Kenya represents an important opportunity to put these developments into action. Deploying Poly3.0 in Mombasa will allow our team to test its portability, efficiency, and real-world usability in a coastal community directly affected by plastic pollution. At the same time, reconnecting with partners in Nairobi will strengthen the relationships that make our work possible.
While there is still much to do, the progress made over the past few months reflects the dedication of our engineers, researchers, and supporters. With continued innovation, collaboration, and community engagement, ESES remains committed to turning plastic waste into opportunity for regions across the planet.
Stay tuned for more updates as we move closer to this year’s fieldwork in Kenya!
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