Enerkem commits to turning marine waste into biofuel

At the G7 Environment, Energy and Oceans Ministerial Meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, global waste-to-biofuels and chemical producer Enerkem announced that it will be exploring opportunities to act against oceans plastic waste and marine litter.

After constructing the ‘world’s first’ waste-to-biofuels facility in Edmonton, Canada, Enerkem is seeking to use its expertise and technology to assist in finding a solution for the issues surrounding marine plastic waste.

The post-meeting press release revealed that the firm has begun discussions with The Ocean Legacy Foundation, a Canada-based non-profit organisation that conducts recurring coastal clean-up expeditions.

The discussion revolved around the exploration of methods in which soiled plastics can be recuperated from oceans to produce low carbon transportation fuels and chemicals by leveraging Enerkem's disruptive technology.

The World Economic Forum estimates that 150 million tonnes of plastic waste are left to float in our oceans. In the press release, Enerkem notes that despite preventative measures, such as plastic waste reduction and recycling, taken by government, the amount of marine waste is expected to triple within a decade.

"Our breakthrough waste-to-biofuels and chemicals technology is already addressing the issues related to urban waste, including plastics. Through this innovative collaboration, we are committed to looking at concrete local initiatives to turn ocean plastics waste into valuable products", said Marie-Hélène Labrie, Enerkem's senior vice president of government affairs and communications.

Labrie will be talking at Biofuels International’s Congress & Expo in Berlin on the 10 October at 12PM. You can still register for the conference at the following: https://biofuels-news.com/conference/biofuels/biofuels_index.php#reg