By Anash.org reporter
An Israeli company located in Kibbutz Tze’elim, is leading the way to replace oil-derived plastics with a sustainable and eco-friendly product – by using plain garbage.
UBQ Materials, founded in 2012, is a company that converts unsorted household waste into a bio-based material that has proved fit for commercial production of durable plastic products, spanning everything from municipal trash cans to shopping carts, shipping pallets and even bricks.
The patented process begins with food leftovers, fabrics, paper, cardboard which are reduced into their basic, natural components and then turned into a matrix. The waste’s mixed plastics are then melted and bond with the matrix, creating a unique thermoplastic.
The process of creating UBQ produces no waste or pollution and uses no water, resulting in a climate-positive, material which can be used as an excellent alternative to plastic. Significantly, UBQ is created from trash that is diverted from landfills, therefore avoiding the decomposition of waste into toxic methane emissions.
Quantis, a leading provider of environmental impact assessments, has named UBQ material to be “the most climate-positive thermoplastic material currently available on the market.”
UBQ’s southern Israel test plant, already supplying UBQ to the plastic industry, has a total production capacity of 5,000 tons per year, and the company plans to establish a full-scale industrial facility in the United States later this year.
The Israeli company has joined with brand-owners, manufacturers and municipalities since its inception, with more partnerships expected as the technology gathers awareness. By the first quarter of 2020, McDonald’s in Latin America will begin to use products made of UBQ in its restaurants and supply chains.
Its most recent deal is with the owner of Mercedez-Benz, Daimler AG. The automotive giant is the first company of its kind to partner with UBQ, and is currently testing the material for its suitability for a range of automobile parts, with initial results looking extremely positive.
With UBQ Materials now on the scene, we can set our hopes high for a marked change in the landfill landscape, helping to preserve the beautiful world Hashem created for us.