Plastics recycler wins innovation award. (Nonmetallics).

MBA Polymers Inc., Richmond, Calif., has been awarded the first Thomas Alva Edison Award for Innovation by The Young Entrepreneurs Organization (YEO) and the Edison Preservation Foundation.

MBA is a plastics recycling company that concentrates on finding end markets for plastics generated by recycled electronic equipment and durable goods. The two groups presenting the award cited 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 YEO and the Edison Preservation Foundation teamed up to create the YEO Thomas Alva Edison Award for Innovation to honor YEO members for their innovative contributions to society. In 2002, there were 47 nominees from eight countries and 29 cities. A panel of judges from the two organizations chose 11 finalists. MBA was honored as the first place finisher at a recent YEO conference in Mexico City.

"Through many years of difficult research and development, MBA Polymers has developed an integrated and automated approach to turn waste products into valuable materials, "John Keegan, president of the Edison Preservation Foundation, says. "The company had to essentially create a new industry and convince many skeptics that it was indeed possible to recycle plastics from complicated waste streams, and this is the essence of true innovation."

Dr. Michael Biddle, CEO and president of MBA Polymers, says, "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. 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."

MBA is currently working with Flextronics, an electronics manufacturing services provider, and numerous electronics OEMs to provide both electronic recycling services and recycled materials.

Biddle and Trip Allen founded MBA Polymers Inc. in 1994 to expand plastics recycling research capabilities and to develop a commercial process for recovering plastics from complex streams of materials.

The company operates a 90,000 square-foot research and commercial recycling operation in Richmond, Calif. More information on the company can be found on the Web at www.mbapolymers.com.