UP065: Renewlogy // Turning plastic waste into fuel through chemical recycling

Episode details

Interview begins: 7:00 Debrief begins: 47:40 Priyanka Bakaya is the founder and CEO of Renewlogy. Founded in 2011, Renewlogy has the technology to break down plastics into its basic molecular form, where it can then be reused for other products or as fuel. In the last year, Priyanka has used the Renewlogy technology to begin Renew Oceans, a non-profit currently working in India to capture and recycle ocean plastics. Priyanka has been well recognized and awarded for her efforts in plastics recycling. Still, plenty of hurdles exist in Renewology's, and she discusses the challenges caused by poor recycling and waste infrastructure and strict regulations. We discuss: - AD: Finding experienced employees for your new business with Integrity Power Search (5:51) - Early entrepreneurial experiences (7:09, 14:03) - Australian and Indian culture (10:56) - Renewology's focus (17:05) - Recycling and contamination in the US (18:04) - Why are plastics hard to recycle? (25:06) - Chemical process of breaking down plastics (30:14, 35:53) - Challenges in scaling (32:27) - Business model (37:27) - Reusing Renewlogy technology for Renew Oceans (40:26) - Big picture potential of renewable plastics (43:55) Learn more about Renewlogy: http://renewlogy.com/ Learn more about Renew Oceans: https://www.renewoceans.org/ Follow upside on Twitter: https://twitter.com/upsidefm Advertise with an upside classified: https://upside.fm/classifieds -- This episode is sponsored by Integrity Power Search, the #1 full stack high growth startup recruiting firm between the coasts. They partner with venture capitalists, private equity groups and CEOs to build amazing teams for the world’s most disrupting companies. Learn more about or get in touch with Integrity Power Search: https://upside.fm/integrity