"Plastics Are Too Valuable to Bury or Burn"
That simple realisation is what prompted Dr. Mike Biddle to create MBA Polymers in 1992. Decades later, we operate two of the most advanced plastic recycling plants anywhere in the world.
Millions of tonnes of plastic is discarded each year, wasted, buried and burned. If it’s replaced with virgin polymers, that requires consumption of fossil fuels, more petrochemical extraction and processing, and more carbon released into the atmosphere.
Dr. Mike Biddle realised that if a reliable recycling process could be perfected, plastics destined for the landfill could be reclaimed, turned into valuable polymers, and reinserted into the supply chain.
So he set to work on perfecting that process.
Watch our video below to find out more
Humble Beginnings
Armed with the determination to change the world, Dr. Biddle began work in his garage, seeking a commercially viable way to take plastic from complex waste streams and refine it into high value polymers. An innovative alternative to virgin polymers, for use in a range of applications.
By 1992, Dr. Biddle had proven the viability of his process. In 1997, our first small-scale pilot production facility opened in Richmond, California.
Plastics from a variety of complex waste streams were being converted into high value polymers including ABS, HIPS, PP, Filled PP and HDPE. A viable alternative to burying and burning had been found.
Expansion
Production facilities were first established in Austria and China, these plants focused on manufacturing three polymer grades from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).
In 2010, our largest production facility was opened in Worksop, UK to allow us to collaborate with one of the world’s largest metal recyclers – European Metal Recycling (EMR Group). Applying the knowledge gained and enhanced technology, MBA Polymers UK strengthened their product offering by being able to process even more complex post consumer waste streams such as Automotive Shredder Residue (ASR).
EMR Group would process end-of-life vehicles and retrieve steel and non-ferrous metals. MBA Polymers UK would retrieve plastic residues from their shredding processes and turn it into recycled polymer products.
By securing a consistent, high volume supply of plastic feedstock, MBA Polymers UK could now service larger and larger clients, reducing reliance on emissions-intensive virgin plastics across multiple industries.
In 2019, MBA Polymers UK expanded the business further, in the acquisition of a post-industrial arm focussed on processing post-industrial plastics from the automotive industry including complex multi-layered parts and converting them back into high quality closed-loop resins. Enabling MBA Polymers UK to provide a total plastic waste management solution to the automotive and injection moulding sector.
Together We Can Accomplish Anything
In less than thirty years, our vision and commitment has taken us from a small California garage to a world leading recycling operation.
But our task isn’t complete. Millions of tonnes of plastic still goes unrecycled, leading to countless tonnes of CO2 emissions and an insatiable demand for petrochemicals.
Plastics are too valuable to burn, or to bury. MBA Polymers UK will work to ensure that every year, more and more of this valuable material is put to good use, supplying industries across the world.