Plastic Diesel

Dealing with plastic waste has become a serious global problem. But the Biofabrik company near Dresden has come up with a solution that potentially kills two birds with one stone. It converts unwanted plastic into diesel fuel.

After years of research, Biofabrik has built a prototype conversion machine capable of transforming 250 kilograms of plastic a day into 250 liters of fuel. Biofabrik founder and CEO Oliver Riedel hopes that the technology can be used to spur maritime clean-up initiatives.

“Perhaps people will start to collect more plastic on beaches or in the sea,” says Riedel. “Many islands that have a plastic waste problem also have an energy problem.”

The environmental organization BUND estimates that more than 400 million tons of plastic are produced every year, of which less than one-tenth is recycled.