Biomer Plastics (Sheffield, UK)

A technology blueprint for reprocessing plastics with bacteria to produce renewable energy and biodegradable plastic.

Background

BPR claims our perception of waste as merely rubbish and not as a valuable commodity to be the biggest obstacle solving our waste problem. The UK is still one of the biggest contributor for the amount of waste entering landfills in the EU. More than half of consumer goods are packaged in plastic. Currently the vast majority of plastics are shipped to Hong Kong, before reprocessed in China.

Challenge

The challenge is twofold. On the one hand, due to the decline in mining industry in the UK, people in the Rother Valley face unemployment, loss of livelihood and social problems. On the other hand, it is to find a substitute for shipping used consumer goods that contain PET abroad, by taking part in the PET reprocessing market.

Idea

BPR takes a common PET plastic bottle and upcycles it into biodegradable plastic pellets which are used to manufacture medical equipment or perishable food packaging.

Implementation

BPR is currently seeking funding to build a test facility near Sheffield, United Kingdom. The valley was the industrial heartland of mining, before rapid decline after the events of the miners strikes in the 1980s.