Founded in 2012, the Israel-based climate tech startup UBQ Materials is converting household waste (including food scraps and hard-to-recycle materials) into UBQ, a sustainable substitute for fossil-based plastics.
UBQ diverts waste headed for landfills and pulls out metal and glass, which can be repurposed with traditional recyclers. UBQ takes the remaining waste (food scraps, mixed plastics, cardboard, etc.) and converts it into thermoplastic pellets that can be sold to customers in a variety of industries at a cost comparable to conventional fossil-based plastics. The conversion process is clean and efficient: it is done at low heat and does not use any water. Current end products include automotive interiors, fast food trays, and clothes hangers.
Every kilogram of UBQ diverts 1.3 kilograms of waste from landfills and incinerators and prevents 11.7 kg of carbon dioxide emissions.
UBQ Materials co-founder and co-CEO Jack Bigio attended the MassRecycle conference last week and announced an interest in opening a plant in Massachusetts.
UBQ Materials would buttress the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s recently released Recycling Market Development Action Plan, which highlights ways to attract and scale more recycling businesses. The Plan calls for a reduction in volumes of multiple types of plastic, including bulk rigid plastic items would UBQ products could replace.