Manuel Rendon (born in San Cristobal, Venezuela, 1987) is an inventor and engineer who created the first U.S. patented formulation for the dynamic disintegration of plastics, the

upcycling Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products perceived to be of greater quality, such as artistic value or environmental value ...

process for unsorted waste stream and a bio-based copolymer with programmable water solubility. On December 10, 2020, Nestle announced its investment in the company behind this technology. On plastic-waste regard, pollution is a Global concern given the fact that fossil-based plastic is a substance with a very high molecular weight, This technology creates a homogeneous extremely-soluble copolymer which fully disintegrates within 60 hours of being discarded in the presence of water. It took Rendon five years and over 1200 experiments to complete his paper. In January 2014, Rendon applied for his first U.S. Patent, once it was approved, he resigned his position at PepsiCo and moved to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

to launch Timeplast, the company behind this technology. With the partnership of Riverdale Global and Maguire industries they address the problem of

plastic pollution Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...

, as an alternative for bio-based and so-called biodegradable plastics. Paul Maguire, CEO of Riverdale Global, has presented this technology in the Refocus Sustainability and Recycling Summit, which took place June 27–29, 2017, at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando, Florida. In May, 2021, this technology was selected as a finalist in the world's most prestigious sustainable packaging innovation competition On December 10, 2020, David Tulauskas, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Nestlé Waters North America said; “As we make progress toward a zero-waste future, we’re enthusiastic to build on our work by exploring alternative technologies such as those presented by Timeplast."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rendon, Manuel Venezuelan engineers Living people 1987 births