Mexican startup reduces pollution, turns plastic waste into fuel

BOCA DEL RIO, Mexico: A Mexican startup is tackling plastic waste by turning it into fuel, offering an innovative approach to reducing pollution while generating energy.

With global plastic recycling rates at less than 10 percent, Petgas is working to ensure that discarded plastic doesn't become waste but instead becomes a valuable resource.

The company has developed a machine in Boca del Rio, a port city on Mexico's Gulf coast, that uses pyrolysis-a thermodynamic process that heats plastics in the absence of oxygen. This process breaks down plastic into gasoline, diesel, kerosene, paraffin, and coke.

According to Carlos Parraguirre Diaz, chief technology officer at Petgas, the machine can process 1.5 tons of plastic per week, and produce 356 gallons (1,350 liters) of fuel.

The system requires propane to start the heating process, but once the pyrolysis reaction begins, it sustains itself using the gas it generates. Although burning the resulting fuel emits carbon dioxide, Petgas claims its impact is lower than conventional fuels due to its lower sulfur content.

Parraguirre Diaz believes the project demonstrates the potential to transform waste into valuable resources.

"In place of having a dump, it's as if we dug into the earth and found hydrocarbons that can be used by our community," he said.

The global plastic problem continues to escalate. Annual plastic production exceeds 400 million tons, and without policy changes, it could rise by 70 percent by 2040, according to the United Nations. Every day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world's oceans, rivers, and lakes.

Efforts to create a legally binding global treaty on plastic pollution stalled in December 2024 when negotiations in Busan, South Korea, failed to reach an agreement.

Petgas envisions a circular economy in which plastic waste becomes a renewable energy source. To support this vision, the company organizes plastic collection drives, removing waste from beaches and encouraging people to drop off plastic at designated collection points. Most of the material it processes comes from a recycling facility, arriving clean and shredded.

While the project has gained attention, biologist Alexa Mendoza, who specializes in marine plastic pollution, warns that it is only a short-term fix.

"It doesn't seem to me a solution to put a band-aid on it and say, 'great, it's solved, and let us do it,' but rather it could be a first step," she said.

Currently, Petgas donates its fuel to the local fire department and food delivery services.

"The future is being able to really take production to a scale that has impact," Parraguirre Diaz said.