Turning Up the Volume

When John Bordynuik worked for the Ontario legislature, he noticed how the switch from glass to plastic containers created an enormous waste stream and wanted to address the problem of plastic waste. That is exactly what he set out to do by founding JBI Inc.

“We operate and specialize in converting waste plastic to in-spec end user fuels,” Bordynuik says. “I chose this problem because waste plastic was abundant and was, to me, nothing more than a cleaner, solid version of crude fuel.”

To date, JBI, with a production facility in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and a recycling center and blending site in Thorold, Ontario, has processed more than 2.3 million pounds of waste plastic that would have normally gone to landfill.

Bordynuik answers these questions about JBI’s approach to its business:

Q: What new projects or processing systems have you been focusing on in recent months?

A: This year we are solely focused on high-volume production machines and getting our third processor online at Niagara Falls. We currently have two operational processors and are almost finished building our third.

Q: What makes you different from your competitors?

A: We believe we are the best in the emerging plastic-to-oil market. We have continuously fed machines; our process energy conversion … has been validated by SAIC (Science Applications International Corp.); our machines operate using their own off-gas; and the fuels are in-spec ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) fuels, ready for the end user without need for further refining.

Q: Where do you see your company five years from now?

A: We hope that we’ll be noticed as the first company in history to make a significant impact on the plastic waste problem.