Project description
From landfill waste to novel bio-based materials
Over 2 billion tonnes of household waste are produced globally each year – that is 50 tonnes of waste every single second. More than 70 % of this waste ends up in landfills or openly dumped. The EU-funded UBQ Materials project presents a pioneering solution to turn waste from a liability into a valuable material asset. UBQ Materials converts residual household waste – organics like food and dirty diapers together with plastic, cardboard and packaging – into a sustainable alternative to plastics and other conventional raw materials. UBQ™ is a climate-positive and bio-based thermoplastic integrated seamlessly in standard manufacturing processes. UBQ Materials empowers industries to reduce the carbon footprints of their end products, maximise recycled content, and preserve finite resources without compromising on profitability.
Objective
2bn tons of waste are produced globally per year. An average European leaves behind 480 kg of household waste every year . 99% of things that we buy are sent to trash within 6 months. 50 tons of household waste are produced every second. 95% of waste produced globally is estimated not to be recycled. 80% of waste is dumped into open landfills next to rivers, lakes or oceans. 100m people live on or near landfills all around the world. Moreover, the waste production is increasing—by 2030 the amount of household waste will almost double to 3bn tons annually. Landfills generate not only CO2 but methane, which is 100X more dangerous, dioxins & furans. Utilizing waste as a material asset will open doors to massive savings of natural resources.
We have developed a revolutionary solution that converts residual municipal solid waste, destined for landfills, into a novel patented UBQ Material. The heterogeneous mixed waste stream (including the organics fractions like food waste, garden trimmings, paper, cardboard, diapers, dirty plastics, as well as packaging materials) is converted into an entirely homogeneous material that can be used in existing plastic processing equipment.
Our solution enables industry to reuse waste materials over & over again. By converting the waste into this commercially viable & valuable material, we provide the missing link between waste disposal through to new product manufacturing, moving from a linear extraction and consumption system to a truly circular economy.
We estimate that the global plastic industry can implement UBQ Material blended together with virgin or recycled resins at 10% rate. One 10 ton/hour production plant will produce ~70,000 tons of UBQ Material per year. Once we have industrial-grade throughput of 20 ton/hour in 2020, we plan to roll out 1 plant per year, reaching a total capacity of at least 1.4m ton/year within 8 years. We are aiming at 320+ FTEs by 2024 with €160m in revenues from UBQ Material sales.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwaste managementwaste treatment processesrecycling
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringcompositesbiocomposites
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringmanufacturing engineeringadditive manufacturing
- engineering and technologyindustrial biotechnologybiomaterialsbioplastics
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
6407808 TEL AVIV
Israel
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.