Israel's UBQ's recycled plastic comes to South American McDonald's
UBQ, based in Kibbutz Tze’elim, emerged last year to unveil its solution of converting unsorted household waste into a sustainable, bio-based, climate-positive thermoplastic material.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFRecycled thermoplastic pellets made by UBQ(photo credit: Courtesy)An Israeli project will provide plastic-like products to McDonald's restaurants in South and Central America made of household waste of Israeli residents.UBQ, the cleantech company, teamed up with Arcos Dorados, the world's largest McDonald's franchise, which runs 2,200 restaurants.Despite increasing efforts to recycle unwanted household goods, the destination for the vast majority of solid waste is some form of landfill, causing methane and other damaging greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere. While increased waste production and plastic demands both provide significant causes for concern, one Israeli company’s innovative technology promises a solution to both worrying trends simultaneously.UBQ, based in Kibbutz Tze’elim, emerged last year from stealth mode to unveil its solution of converting unsorted household waste into a sustainable, bio-based, climate-positive thermoplastic material that can be used for commercial and industrial products instead of petroleum-based plastics. Dubbed “the most climate-positive material on the planet” by sustainability strategists Quantis International, the company is garnering significant international attention.“We have created a new natural resource from the household waste that ends up in landfills, avoiding its decomposition into harmful gases, while replacing scarce and expensive plastic materials made from oil,” UBQ co-founder and chief executive Jack "Tato" Bigio told The Jerusalem Post. “That’s a blessing to the industry. Many companies in the last 10 to 20 years have emerged with solutions that turn out to be flops in one way or another. Never again,” he said.Arcos Dorados hires 94,000 workers and owns numerous McDonald's restaurants in countries around the world. The new agreement was signed after the company promised to protect the environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The first products are expected to start being used in South America in the first quarter of 2020.Eytan Halon contributed to this report.
