1. Creating a More Sustainable
Plastics Industry
Dr. Mike Biddle
Founder and President, MBA Polymers
Principal/Founder, Material Solutions
Material
Solutions
Delivering resource efficiency solutions

2. Material
Solutions
Are Plastics:
A. One of the most sustainable
materials on the plant?
B. A Plague on the Planet?
“Plastic Plague”
C. Both?
Multiple Choice Question

3. 3
Why
Should
We
Care?
Material
Solutions

4. “I have one word for you”
“Plastics”
Material
Solutions

5. Plastics have Grown Faster
than most Materials
Material
Solutions

6. Plastics have Grown Faster
than most Materials
Material
Solutions

7. A Tale of Two Materials
Steel Recycling Rate
is Much Higher
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Estimates from durable goods
Plastics are More Valuable
Plastics
SteelSteel
Plastics
Material
Solutions

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2012
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So why aren’t more plastics re-used?
1.
Plas8cs
just
started
coming
back
in
large
and
organized
volumes
2.
It’s
not
Easy
Material
Solutions

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2012
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WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment)
Recycling - Japan

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WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment) Recycling - Japan

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Automobile Recycling - Germany

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Automobile and WEEE Recycling - Austria

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WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment)
Recycling – The Netherlands

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WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment)
Recycling – Germany

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WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment)
Recycling - France

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WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment)
Recycling - Spain

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WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment) Recycling - Switzerland

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WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment) Recycling – South Korea

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2012
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WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment)
Recycling - Taiwan

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Shredding to Liberate and Recover Metals

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Remaining material is called “shredder residue”

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Shredder residue from large appliances

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Shredder residue from automobiles

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Mixed Plastics from MRFS

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Density
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 Copper
Steel
Aluminum
Brass
Titanium
Magnesium
Metals
Water 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
PEPP
PSABS f-PP
nylonPET
PC/ABS
SAN PPO
POM
PUPSU
PVC
PPSPEI
PMMA
Plastics
Material
Solutions

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Material
Solutions“Low-Cost” Recycling
Photos from Basel
Action Network
(BAN), www.ban.org

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2012
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Photos from Basel
Action Network
(BAN), www.ban.org
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Material
Solutions“Low-Cost” Recycling

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2012
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Photos from Basel
Action Network
(BAN), www.ban.org
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Material
Solutions“Low-Cost” Recycling

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2012
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“Low-Cost” Recycling
Photos from Basel
Action Network
(BAN), www.ban.org
Material
Solutions

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Photos from Basel
Action Network
(BAN), www.ban.org
Material
Solutions“Low-Cost” Recycling

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2012
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Material
Solutions“Low-Cost” Recycling
Photos from Basel
Action Network (BAN),
www.ban.org

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Photos from Basel
Action Network
(BAN), www.ban.org
“Low-Cost” Recycling
Material
Solutions

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And Some Finds Its Way to Streams,
Rivers and Oceans
Photo:
Honolulu
Civil
Beat
Photo:
Discovery News
Photo: http://
genesis-
chiropractic.com
Photo: Getty
Images
Material
Solutions

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And Some Can End Up in the Food Chain
Photo:
www.plasticpollutioncoaliton.org
Photo: Vegalante
Image: Vegalante
Photo:
Chris
Jordan

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Interactions with animals not always positive Material
Solutions

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Chris
Jordan
Midway Film
Material
Solutions
MidwayFilm.com
The plight
of 10’s of
thousands
of nesting
Albatross

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Plastics are being ingested by many different species of fish
Material
Solutions

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Growing Efforts to Tie Plastics to Health Issues
Material
Solutions

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Photo: Ocean Recovery Alliance, Doug Woodring
Can’t we recover these plastics?
Material
Solutions

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Material
Solutions

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Material
Solutions

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Material
Solutions

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Most “Difficult” Plastic Streams
are sent to China for Recycling
Photos from Scrap
Magazine
Material
Solutions

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Photo: Basel Action
Network
Often the recyclers in developing
countries are the source of the pollution
Photo: Scrap
Magazine
Material
Solutions

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Photo:
Vegalante
'Out to Sea – The Plastic Garbage
Project just opened in the Zurich
Museum of Design. Every 15 seconds
this amount of plastic garbage gets
released into the sea

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Photos: Basel Action
Network

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Procurement
Processing
Selling
Traditional Plastics Business ModelSustainable Business Model
Plentiful and growing
supply!
Lower cost and not
tied to oil
Lower Capital Costs
80 to 90% LOWER
Energy
Saves 1-3 tons CO2/ton
plastic
Closing the Loop
More Flexible Plant Sustainable Products

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The first global plastics “recycling” company
MBA
is
not
only
the
technology
leader
–
but
the
first
global
plas0cs
recycling
company
CA, USA
First
production
Plant
China
2006
Austria
2006
UK
2010

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MBA CHINA

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MBA UK
53

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MBA AUSTRIA
54
MBA
short
video

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Our
Technology,
Scale
and
Scope
Allows
Us
to
Close
the
Loop
U8lize
proprietary
mechanical
separa8on
process
to
isolate
and
purify
high-­‐value
plas8cs
Operate
in
geographic
loca8ons
where
durable
goods
are
recycled
in
large
quan88es
Procure
plas8cs-­‐rich
shredder
residue
from
recycling
partners
Provide
customers
with
unique
global
offering
of
PCR
plas8cs

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Does
Anyone
Care?
Material
Solutions

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"42% of plastic is recycled and 58% of
plastic not in contact with food is recycled"

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Green
Procurement
Becomes
Real
Blue
Angel
(Germany)
Ecomark
(Japan)
Nordic
Swan
TCO
Development
(Sweden)
Terrachoice
(Canada)
TED
(EU Computer Mfgrs Assoc)
Ecoflower
(EU)
Material
Solutions

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Leading
Organiza8ons
Like
the
WEF
Understand
the
Importance
of
Resource
Recovery
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Finally, someone invented a way to clean up the e-
waste left over when all that technology goes out
of date in the next minute and a half.
MBA Polymers, Inc.
Michael Biddle
E-Waste Meets
Its Re-Maker
By LAURAA. LOCKE/SAN FRANCISCO

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id
eainnova
tionprogress
ion
The Technical Plastics Recycling Pioneer
President and Founder, MBA Polymers
63

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Intel
Tech
Laureate
for
2006
Dr.
Craig
BarreW,
Intel
Chairman,
presents
the
award
and
grills
Dr.
Biddle
over
dinner
all
night
about
MBA‘s
technology.
Bill
Gates
also
gets
the
Humanitarian
Award
the
same
night.

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Thomas
Alva
Edison
Award
for
Innova8on,
2002

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One
of
the
World‘s
Top
100
Global
CleanTech
Companies
Selected as one of the top 100 CleanTech companies
in the World in both 2009 and 2010
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MBA
Polymers
Named
GoingGreen
Silicon
Valley Global
200
Company of
the Year

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Winner: Materials & Resources 2013
& Grand Prize Winner
Reuters: “If the Nobel society had an award for sustainability, it
would resemble the Katerva awards, a new international prize
for the most promising ideas and efforts to advance the planet
toward sustainability.”

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The
2012
Göteborg
Award
"The
Nobel
Prize
in
Environment"
“EXTRAORDINARY DRIVES TO CLOSE THE LOOP
GIVE BIDDLE AND SÖDERBERG THE
GOTHENBURG AWARD”
20092010
2011
20022007

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Over 800,000 unique views
Over 1,000 comments, questions, etc.
• Thank you for doing this!
• What can we do to help?
• When can we have one in our country?
Citizens all around the
planet really care!

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If necessity is the mother of
invention, then the state of the
environment should be driving innovation
around the world. And indeed it is.
Executive produced by SHFT co-founders
Peter Glatzer and Adrian Grenier and
sponsored by Ford Motor Company. Learn
more about the people who are leading the
world toward a more sustainable future -- and
inspiring everyone they touch along the way.
The Big SHFT: 10 Innovators
Changing Our World
Material
Solutions