Our new location in Mauna, Germany still attracts media attention. Read the whole article on the Process Website.
US recycled plastics specialist MBA Polymers Inc. is expanding its presence in Europe with a new recycling plant for electrical and electronic equipment waste (WEEE) in Mauna, Germany.
Das Unternehmen MBA Polymers recycelt Elektrogeräte nicht nur umweltfreundlich. Die Kunststoffpellets, die dabei anfallen, sind auch ein günstiger Rohstoff.
Für gewöhnlich sind alte Staubsauger, Radios oder Toaster eine reine Last. In vielen Ländern landen Elektrogeräte noch immer auf Deponien – und belasten die Umwelt. In einer Fabrik am Rande des Sherwood Forest in England wird das Problem aber nicht nur umweltfreundlich gelöst, sondern sogar gewinnbringend. In einem der innovativsten Kunststoffrecyclingwerke der Welt werden die alten Geräte zu Millionen von kunterbunten Plastikpellets verarbeitet. Diese winzigen Pellets werden als Rohmaterial an Hersteller verkauft, die sie anstelle von fabrikneuem Kunststoff für die Produktion neuer Produkte wie Handys oder Autos verwenden. Die Pellest sind dabei gemessen am Gewicht viel mehr wert als Stahl.
We’re delighted to share that MBA Polymers won the ‘Young Global Leaders Award for Circular Economy SME’ at the Circulars Awards in January. The Circulars are the world’s leading awards for contributors to the circular economy, designed to honour circular achievements across businesses, the public sector and civil society. They’re an initiative of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Forum of Young Global Leaders, and shine a spotlight on innovations that stand to decouple growth from resource use. Our founder and board member, Mike Biddle, collected the prize at the awards ceremony, which was held at the latest WEF annual meeting in January.
MBA Polymers was also selected by the audience – comprised of leading multi-nationals, circular economy experts and NGOs – to win the overall ‘Davos Prize’ for ‘the most impactful and innovative circular economy story’. We won the accolade despite stiff competition from sustainability pioneers such as Patagonia and Nike.
Commenting on the award, Mike said: “This is recognition for our achievements in creating advanced technologies to transform some of the world’s most complex plastic waste streams into valuable raw materials, and delivering more than 170,000 tonnes of high quality recycled plastics to major manufacturers each year.”
The circular economy and plastics featured strongly at this year’s WEF, with talks exploring circular economy investment opportunities in Europe (in food, mobility and the built environment) and circular design, as well as strategies to re-think plastic packaging. In particular, the New Plastics Economy Initiative launched its latest research on plastic packaging, complete with a global action plan supported by 40 major companies including Unilever, Veolia and Danone.
The report, ‘The New Plastics Economy: Catalysing action‘, was produced by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the WEF. It provides a global action plan to move towards 50% high quality, economically viable recycling and 20% reuse of plastic packaging. It also highlights the pressing need for innovation to redesign the remaining 30%. Its authors claim it’s the first report to provide a clear transition strategy for the global plastics industry to design better packaging, increase recycling rates, and introduce new models for making better use of packaging.
MBA Polymers to Speak about Plastics in the Circular Economy at the Global Innovative Plastics Summit.
Brian Riise will be presenting a paper entitled “Plastics from Electrical and Electronics Equipment in the Circular Economy” at the Global Innovative Plastics Summit from March 22-23 in Berlin, Germany. This conference will bring together experts, producer, suppliers, and academia to discuss, hear and learn about their experiences and challenges with plastics design, migration and optimization, to network and enjoy excellent mix of case studies, interactive panel discussions, speed networking and workshops.
Our Research & Development Director, Brian Riise, will give a talk entitled ‘Polypropylene recovered from shredded end-of-life durable goods’.
This year’s conference will focus on the convergence of technology and markets. It will look at current trends in markets, technology and investments, as well as innovation in polyolefin catalysts, new process developments, advances in polyolefin stabilisation and modifiers, sustainability and regulatory opportunities, as well as polyolefins in automotive appliances, enabling foams and rigid packaging.
Brian Riise, MBA Polymers’ Research & Development Director, will give a talk entitled ‘Plastics recovered from shredded durable goods for use in the automotive industry’. This business-to-business event will bring together experts from all levels of the value chain to exchange knowledge and best practice. In particular, this year’s summit will focus on themes including the latest technologies in automotive plastics, optimising safety and lightweighting, and developing a roadmap for the future of plastics in the industry.
Mike Biddle, MBA Polymers’ founder, will give a keynote speech entitled ‘Mining the past to secure the future’. Delegates will also be able to join a tour of our Austrian joint venture facility on 20th January. Please contact us to find out more.
Now in its 16th edition, the International Electronics Recycling Congress will assemble more than 500 international producers, recyclers, refurbishers, associations, NGOs and policy-makers to discuss the latest recycling technologies, regulations, manufacturing processes and the value of raw materials. This year, the conversation will focus on topics including barriers to achieving a circular economy, reuse and refurbishment and supply chain transparency.
MBA Polymers has been named as a finalist in the ‘Young Global Leaders Award for Circular Economy SME’ category of the Circulars Awards, the world’s only awards aimed specifically at circular economy pioneers. This is the second year running that MBA has made the finalists’ line-up, following the inaugural Circulars Awards in 2015.
The finalists were chosen through a rigorous judging process, and the winners will be announced at a prestigious awards ceremony held at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2017.
“We’re delighted to have been named as a Circulars finalist for the second consecutive year,” says Dr Mike Biddle, MBA’s Founder. “This is global recognition for our achievements in creating advanced technologies to recycle complex plastic polymers into valuable secondary raw materials.”
MBA Polymers’ CEO Richard McCombs will be attending and Chris Slijkhuis E-Waste Recycling and Public Affairs Director at Müller-Guttenbrunn, our joint venture partner in Austria, will be leading a panel discussion on Circular Economy.
At the conference, stakeholders from across the plastics value chain will have the opportunity to contribute to the design of the European Union’s Strategy on Plastics. The aim will be to collectively create ground-breaking circular ideas for inclusion in the strategy. Plastic is one of the five priority areas addressed by the EU action plan for the Circular Economy.