Washington D.C., February 9, 2005
- The International Finance Corporation, as administrator of the Environmental Opportunities Facility, has invested $1.2 million equity in MBA Polymers, Inc., to develop and operate a joint venture plastics recycling facility in Guangzhou, China.
MBA Polymers, a California based company, has developed the first technology that can recycle on a commercial production scale highly mixed waste streams of high value plastics, such as those common to discarded consumer durable goods and electronics. Raw material is converted for reuse into high-value engineering plastics while at the same time providing an environmentally attractive processing channel for a recyclable resource that would otherwise be destined for landfills or incineration.
“Choosing China for its first plastic recycling plant outside the United States was a strategic part of MBA’s international expansion,” said Karin Finkelston, IFC’s associate director for China. “The company’s efforts will help create more sustainable manufacturing activities for all connected industries which, without MBA’s technology, would end up producing waste streams that contaminate groundwater and pollute the air.”
China is rapidly becoming a leading consumer of durable goods, electronic equipment, and automobiles. It is the second-largest and most rapidly growing user of plastics in the world, but it must import more than 50 percent of the plastics it needs. MBA’s plant will provide a much more environmentally attractive domestic source of plastics for China.
“MBA Polymers is pleased to have IFC tangibly recognize the significant environmental and economic benefits of our technology,” said Mike Biddle, MBA’s CEO. “We intend to build additional recycling facilities in countries where IFC is focusing its development efforts, and we look forward to further projects together.”
“This project with MBA Polymers clearly demonstrates EOF’s value in supporting innovative private sector solutions to some of the pressing local environmental issues,” commented Rachel Kyte, director of IFC’s Environmental and Social department.
The Environmental Opportunities Facility was established in 2002 to provide flexible financing to innovative ventures that have a strong potential to increase environmental sustainability but that must overcome the uncertainty associated with new markets, new technologies, and new ways of doing business. It is part of IFC’s Sustainable Business Assistance Program, which provides a platform for making highly selective, strategic interventions in key environmental sectors where the demonstration of sustainable business practices offers potentially significant benefits. Key funders of the facility include the governments of Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, and Norway, as well as IFC.
The mission of IFC (
www.ifc.org
) is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FYO4, IFC has committed more than $44 billion of its own funds and arranged $23 billion in syndications for 3,143 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s worldwide committed portfolio as of FY04 was $17.9 billion for its own account and $5.5 billion held for participants in loan syndications.
