(Credit: Pixabay)PepsiCo has announced the use of UBQ material to develop a sustainable pallet that uses unsorted household waste, including organics, in its composition. During the manufacturing process of UBQ material, waste is diverted and GHG emissions are prevented.
In this initial project alone, the material implementation saves the equivalent of more than 6,500 kg of GHG emissions. More than 739 kg of mixed waste will be redirected from landfills, looped back into the material as a valuable resource. The pallets are developed by PepsiCo's partner Ecoboxes Embalagens Plásticas, which specializes in solutions focused on sustainability and circular economy.
The UBQ material is a bio-based thermoplastic converted from 100% unsorted municipal solid waste, including mixed plastics, paper, cardboard, and organics, and is suitable to substitute conventional polymers in various durable applications.
The first phase of the PepsiCo project includes the manufacturing of 830 ecological pallets for use in two of the company's logistics centers. In addition to UBQ, the pallets are made from recycled materials that include recycled PP resin and recycled BOPP (a plastic film used in the company's snack packaging), which completes the circular economy cycle. Also being studied is the possibility of implementing UBQ as a raw material for other applications across the supply chain.
