Page 30 - Plastic News November 2023

UBQ bio-based plastic recognised as one of TIME’s best inventions of 2023

The company has developed and pat- UBQ produced diverts 1.3 tons of
ented a closed-loop process, which waste and prevents up to 11.7 tons
converts garbage waste - including of CO2 equivalent emissions. Accord-
food waste, mixed plastics, card- ing to the manufacturer, that makes
board, paper, and dirty diapers - into a it ‘the most climate positive thermo-
sustainable raw material for the man- plastic material on the planet’, it said
ufacturing of everyday goods across a on a statement.
multitude of industries. The process "Our material, UBQ, replaces scarce
works by breaking down the het- and carbon intensive materials, in-

he bio-based thermoplastic won erogeneous waste streams into their cluding oil-based plastics," explained
Tin the “reuse & recycle” category basic, natural components before re- Jack 'Tato' Bigio, CEO and Co-found-
of TIME magazine’s award. constituting them to create a brand- er of UBQ Materials. "We provide a
new material. Around 70% to 80%
Israel-based cleantech company UBQ of UBQ’s feedstock is broken down climate positive material that is price
Materials has been named in TIME to its particulate constructs—lignin, competitive, straightforward to im-
magazine’s list of the best inventions cellulose, fibres, and sugars—and then plement, and highly recyclable, con-
of 2023. The list features 200 innova- reassembled and bound together into verted from 100% household waste
tions solving compelling problems in a matrix. The remaining 20% to 30% through a clean, zero waste, energy-
creative ways with the potential to are mixed plastics that melt and bond efficient process."
change lives. UBQ Materials was rec- into the matrix, creating a highly recy- This September, UBQ Materials
ognised as a winning innovation in the clable thermoplastic material. raised $70 million in a financing round
“reuse & recycle” category for inven- led by Eden Global Partners.
tions reducing overconsumption. According to a Life Cycle Assessment
conducted by Quantis, every ton of

Borealis Acquires Recyclate Compounder Rialti

specialty and circular portfolios, ena-
bling it to meet customer demand.

“Mechanical recycling is a key com-
ponent of our integrated circular cas-
cade model, which is a cornerstone
of our future-positive transformation
and path to net zero . The acquisition
of Rialti provides a vital expansion of
our recyclate-based PP compound ca-
pacity, and marks another critical step
on our path to reinventing essentials
for sustainable living,” says Lucrèce
Foufopoulos, executive vice president
orealis announced the closing of produce 50,000 metric tons/yr (over of polyolefins, circularity and innova-
Bits acquisition of Rialti S.p.A., a 110 million lb/yr) of injection molding tion & technology at Borealis.
compounder of PP recyclate based in and extrusion PP compounds. Borealis is a multinational producer of
Italy. Rialti makes PP compounds me- polyolefins and base chemicals based
chanically recycled from both post- in Vienna, Austria.
consumer and postindustrial feed- According to Borealis, the move is ex-
stocks. The company has capacity to pected to strengthen the company’s

30 PLASTICS NEWSASTICS NEWS November 2023
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