UBQ Materials is an Israeli

cleantech Clean technology, in short cleantech, is any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental protection activities. Cle ...

company created to convert unsorted household waste into a

thermoplastic A thermoplastic, or thermosoft plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling. Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight. The polymer chains associate ...

composite. The company's primary product, UBQ, is a thermoplastic, sold in the form of pellets, that can be used to substitute for wood, concrete, or oil based plastics in the manufacturing of durable products. In 2018, UBQ Materials Ltd. became a Certified

B Corporation In the United States, a benefit corporation (or in several jurisdictions including Delaware, a public-benefit corporation or PBC) is a type of for-profit corporate entity, authorized by 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, that include ...

History

Funding

UBQ Materials was founded in 2012 by Yehuda Pearl (co-founder of

Sabra Sabra may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Sabra (comics), a fictional Israeli female superhero in the Marvel Comics universe * Sabra (magazine), a Japanese magazine for men * ''Sabra Command'' the original title of the film ''Warhead'' * "Sabr ...

), Jack (Tato) Bigio, and Eran Lev. The Company developed patents for the conversion of unsorted municipal waste, including all organics, into a thermoplastic material. The patented UBQ product and manufacturing process was developed between 2012 and 2017. Albert Douer, owner of multinational petrochemical, construction, and packaging manufacturer, joined the company in 2013 as a senior strategic investor and later as chairman of the board. In 2018, UBQ began commercial production. UBQ has offices located in Tel Aviv, Israel, and a manufacturing plant in Kibbutz

Tze'elim Tze'elim ( he, צֶאֱלִים) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In it had a population of . A military training base of the ground forces of the IDF (ofte ...

in the

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

area of southern Israel.

Financing

As of 2019, UBQ has raised $42.5 million from private investors, Battery Ventures and EASME.

Technology

Waste is received, either as residual solid waste diverted from landfills or as RDF, already dried and shredded. The waste runs through stages of automatic refinement, removing particles of metals and minerals that are sent to recycling facilities. At this stage it is cleared as feedstock for the reactor; physical processes set off a chemical reaction in the waste, breaking down the organic elements to their basic particulate components; lignin, sugar, cellulose, and fibers. These components are reconstituted into a homogenous matrix with the melted plastics to create UBQ. The resulting material is sold as standardized pellets to be used in conventional manufacturing machinery to create products with a reduced

environmental footprint The ecological footprint is a method promoted by the Global Footprint Network to measure human demand on natural capital, i.e. the quantity of nature it takes to support people or an economy. It tracks this demand through an ecological accounti ...

Application

UBQ material is used in

injection Injection or injected may refer to: Science and technology * Injective function, a mathematical function mapping distinct arguments to distinct values * Injection (medicine), insertion of liquid into the body with a syringe * Injection, in broadca ...

compression molding Compression molding is a method of molding in which the molding material, generally preheated, is first placed in an open, heated mold cavity. The mold is closed with a top force or plug member, pressure is applied to force the material int ...

extrusion Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex c ...

and

3D printing 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the Manufacturing, construction of a three-dimensional object from a computer-aided design, CAD model or a digital 3D modeling, 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is ...

, and is compatible with PP, PE,

PLA PLA may refer to: Organizations Politics and military * People's Liberation Army, the armed forces of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party * People's Liberation Army (disambiguation) ** Irish National Liberation Army, formerly called ...

, and PVC. The concentration of UBQ within the final material compound is dependent on the physical property requirements of the product application. It may be compounded with additives to modify coloration, impact strength, and UV resistance. In November 2019, UBQ Materials entered into a collaboration with fast-food chain

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

franchisee Arcos Dorados to develop serving trays made with UBQ. In January 2020, German automotive manufacturer

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

announced it will test UBQ products in its vehicles, for production of the passenger cabin and outer plastic parts. UBQ is utilized as a sustainability additive in retail products, furniture, and within the material supply chain.

Environmental impact

Each ton of UBQ material diverts 1.3 tons of landfill-destined waste and prevents up to 11.7 tons of CO₂ equivalent. Environmental impact calculations are derived from ISO 14040/44 compliant

life cycle assessment Life cycle assessment or LCA (also known as life cycle analysis) is a methodology for assessing environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a commercial product, process, or service. For instance, in the case of ...

of the UBQ material produced in Tse’elim, Israel. The patented conversion process uses ¼ the energy of conventional plastic manufacturing, requires no water, and produces no effluents or sludge. UBQ is a bio-preferred USDA certified material, recyclable, and composed entirely of recycled materials.

References

{{reflist Companies of Israel 2012 establishments in Israel Plastic recycling