- UK-based Unwasted has developed “Neverwaste”, a process that refines & modifies the fibers inside waste cardboard (made from virgin & recycled timber), to produce a panel board that can be used across construction, flooring & furniture. The process does not use any glues, resins or other harmful chemicals, but instead a “continuous pressing & dying cycle”. One thing’s for sure, Unwasted taps into a cheap & abundant feedstock (for the foreseeable future): the average UK household discards 13,000 different pieces of carboard annually; cardboard (as well as paper) accounts for 41% of the world’s solid waste (a trend amplified by the rise of e-commerce) – with a large portion burned or dumped in landfills. The startup will use the new funds to build its first pilot (manufacturing) facility in the UK & has already identified the site for a commercial facility in Demark, which could produce 160,000 m3 of panel boards annually (from 140,000 tons of waste carboard) (saving 170,000 trees or 150,000 tons of carbon dioxide). Unwasted anticipates that a single manufacturing line at the commercial facility could generate €80m income annually. Contracts with clients for the panels are said to be in place. Therefore, the company plans to raise another €70m in 2023, so watch that space! Unwasted was founded in 2016 by Rod Fountain (CEO). <Source: siliconcanals.com, solarimpulse.com, tech.eu>
