MBA Polymers, Inc. The Plastics Recycling Professionals
PRESS RELEASE MBA POLYMERS AWARDED FIRST THOMAS ALVA EDISON AWARD FOR INNOVATION Richmond, Calif., March 25, 2002- MBA Polymers, Inc. (MBA), a company that facilitates the recycling of electronics equipment, today announced that it has been awarded the first Thomas Alva Edison Award for Innovation by The Young Entrepreneurs Organization (YEO) and the Edison Preservation Foundation. The award recognizes MBA s pioneering of the recycling of high value plastics from end-of-life durable goods such as appliances, business equipment, computers, electronics and automobiles. The Edison Award for Innovation, a genuine working 1903 Edison Standard Phonograph, shown with many of the electronic and electrical devices that Edison made possible. In the foreground are recycled plastic pellets that MBA Polymers recycles from equipment like this for use in new products. (Photo can be enlarged or decreased by dragging a corner)
Through many years of difficult research and development, MBA Polymers has developed an integrated and automated approach to turn waste products into valuable materials, stated John Keegan, President of the Edison Preservation Foundation. The company had to essentially create a new industry and convince many skeptics that is was indeed possible to recycle plastics from complicated waste streams, and this is the essence of true innovation. Currently North America consumes approximately 100 billion pounds of plastics each year and is the only major material category yet to be recycled in significant amounts. The European Union, Japan and a number of growing countries have passed legislation to recycle durable goods like electronics, appliances, computers and automobiles. Major multinational manufacturers of durable goods are now working with MBA to recycle the plastics from their end-of-life products, and to provide them with recycled plastics for their new products, said Dr. Michael B. Biddle, CEO and President of MBA Polymers. Essentially we are helping these large companies with a waste problem on the back end of their business and providing them with a recycled plastic that can lower costs that enable their green marketing products on the front end of their business. This is key to not only reducing cost, but preserving the environment as well. Recently, over twelve electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) announced an agreement to charge fees or pay front-end costs on their equipment in the United States to help fund recycling. Furthermore, MBA is currently working with Flextronics, the world s largest electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider and numerous electronics OEMs, providing both electronic recycling services and recycled materials. About MBA Polymers, Inc. MBA Polymers, Inc. (MBA) was founded in 1994 by Dr. Michael Biddle and Mr. Trip Allen, to expand the research capabilities in the area of plastics recycling, and to develop a commercial process for recovering plastics from complex streams of materials. After eight years of research and development, MBA is now considered a world leader at developing technology for the recovery of high value engineering plastics from complex durable goods streams such as computers, electronics, appliances and automobiles. The company, located in Richmond, CA, operates a 90,000 square-foot state-of-the-art research and commercial recycling operation. For more information, please visit www.mbapolymers.com. Media Contacts: Dr. Michael Biddle, MBA Polymers, 510-231-9031, ext.101, mbiddle@mbapolymers.com John Keegan, Edison Preservation Foundation, 973-648-0500, jkeegan@charlesedisonfund.org Dean Lindal, Young Entrepreneurs Association, 250-391-2945, dlindal@yeo.org Note to Editors: For more information about MBA Polymers, visit www.mbapolymers.com For more information about Edison Preservation Foundation, visit www.edisonpf.org For more information about Young Entrepreneurs Association, visit www.yeo.org