Transformed from household waste! As a plastic substitute, McDonald's and Pepsi use it!
UBQ Materials is the first company in the world that can convert organic and non-recyclable household waste into so-called bio-based thermoplastics. Their first factory outside of Israel is being built in Bergen op Zoom (Netherlands). It will process more than 100,000 tons of municipal waste into 80,000 tons of plastic material. The unit will be commissioned by the end of 2023.
organic part
The UBQ material is produced using organic parts of household waste: food scraps and mixed plastics, but also cardboard, paper and even soiled diapers. It will process this part into a plastic replacement, with the final product consisting of UBQ pellets, a resource for many products. Although its original source is a heterogeneous waste stream, the composition of these particles is fairly constant. The device breaks down organic material into lignin, or wood chips, and cellulose, the type of bioplastic already in the base. Plastic residues combine with these organic chains to form a new type of plastic. This is the success of UBQ in making homogeneous products.
UBQ materials remove anything that can be recycled, such as metals and minerals, from the waste stream. Rachel Barr, vice president of sustainability at UBQ Materials, said, "It's not necessary for the technology. But if we don't do it, we're going against our own sustainability principles. The rest is becomes UBQ." There are many possible applications for the final product, which can be used in plastic kennels and household products. The company's products garner demand from some of the largest corporations such as Mercedes, McDonald's, PepsiCo, AB Indev, and various chemical companies.
About UBQ:
- UBQ is composed of 100% recycled materials and can be recycled by itself;
- Overall, it prevents the release of climate gases, since waste is no longer incinerated or landfilled;
- The new material is homogeneous and consistent;
-Competitive price;
- It brings a new existence to waste and in doing so prevents the use of resources such as wood, fossil fuels, minerals and concrete;
- The material contains at least 50% biobased content.
Barr insists that UBQ is a bio-based thermoplastic, a material used in plastic auto parts, furniture and PVC pipes, among other things. It's a great, sustainable alternative to this type of plastic. It saves scarce raw materials, prevents methane emissions from foreign landfills, reduces CO2 emissions when waste is burned in the Netherlands, and helps to phase out and reuse waste on the way to a circular economy. Although UBQ is safe, it should not be used in products that come into contact with food. This has to do with the mandatory end-of-waste status, and these types of raw materials are hard to come by. Therefore, the material is currently only used as a replacement for hard plastics.
