In Canada, AlwaysBLU is taking the global food waste problem and using it to manufacture plastics. If you’ve been keeping an eye on Newlight Technologies which captures methane-based greenhouse gases and turns it into AirCarbon plastic material, then watch out for AlwaysBLU, which is also looking for ways to create carbon-negative plastics.
Before you say composting is already a solution for food waste, consider that it releases CO2 into the atmosphere, and burning food waste for power also releases CO2. AlwaysBLU takes the hydrogen and carbon from food waste and converts it into polyethylene and polypropylene pellets that are the same as petroleum-based pellets, so plastic producers don’t need to alter any of their manufacturing processes or tools to accommodate AlwaysBLU pellets. The next step is getting costs down and more closely aligned with current plastic costs, and getting AlwaysBLU up to scale and commercialized in the next few years.