Design for Plastics Circularity Challenge
Empowering the next generation of designers to build a circular future for plastics.
The next challenge is coming
Details of DPCC 2026 will be announced here. Universities can register their interest now and be the first to know.
Ready to shape the future of plastics?
Plastics serve everything from consumer packaging to high-end industrial uses, yet their convenience often means they are needlessly thrown away. DPCC asks how we keep the advantages of plastics while building a circular economy that retains their value.
Organised by MPMA with Dow, it is an open competition for university students to present ideas, research or innovations for a circular future for plastics. The challenge started in Shanghai, China, initiated by Dow. The programme includes a Plastics Circularity and Innovation Bootcamp, a plastics factory visit, mentorship sessions, an industrial sharing session and the Grand Finale.
Three competition pillars
- 01Pillar 1
Reimagining Plastics Design
- 02Pillar 2
Products Made from Recycled Content
- 03Pillar 3
SMART Circular Ecosystem
Important dates
- 22 Aug 2025Programme kick-off
The launch day and official start of DPCC 2025.
- 19 Sep 2025Registration closes
- 29 Sep 2025Shortlisted teams announced
- 23 and 24 Oct 2025Plastics Circularity and Innovation Bootcamp
Insights and guidance for participants on their innovation.
- 12 Nov 2025Grand Finale: final pitch
The culmination of months of work on the innovations.
Universities at the DPCC 2025 launch
Launched by Mr Yeoh Lian Kuan, Sales Director for South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Packaging and Specialty Plastics, Dow, and Ms Wee Ching Yun, Vice-President, MPMA.
- Universiti Malaya (UM)
- Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
- Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
- Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)
- Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM)
- Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT)
- Xiamen University Malaysia (XMU)
50 ideas, 10 finalists, one Malaysian champion
Organised with Dow, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Students submitted over 50 ideas, from plastics waste management technology to innovative packaging and ways to reuse plastics waste.
Ten finalist teams exhibited their innovations at the Grand Finale on 12 November 2024 at UKM, Bangi, where the champion for Malaysia was revealed.