MICHAEL BIDDLE

USA

The winner of WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award 2012 on the theme Closing the Loop was plastics engineer Michael Biddle, together with the social entreprenur Björn Söderberg.

In comparison with nature’s eco-cycle in which waste products are of value in new processes, society’s current use of materials is unsustainable. Raw materials are converted into products and eventually become waste, leading to resource shortage, waste problems, and energy waste. Entrepreneurship and new innovative solutions are required to break this trend and instead create functioning eco-cycles.

Michael Biddle started MBA Polymers in his garage in 1992, shortly after completing his chemistry doctorate. He wanted to prove that plastics from complex waste streams can be recycled into high-quality raw material. He developed techniques for separating and refining plastic waste to produce attractive quality-assured raw materials that replace new oil-based plastics. The business has since grown from concept into large-scale industrial production in the USA, Europe and China.

Dr. Biddle has combined deep technical expertise and entrepreneurial brilliance with a drive to close the loop. His solutions contribute to reducing waste and saving the Earth’s non-renewable resources. Dr Biddle inspires other entrepreneurs to develop innovative hi-tech solutions in the waste sector.