April 1st, 2011

Agilyx Raises $22 Million To Turn Plastics (Back) Into Oil

A Portland area startup selling patented systems that turn plastic trash into synthetic crude oil, Agilyx, closed a $22 million series B round, the company revealed on Thursday. The systems (image below) look like the kind of equipment you’d see in a brewery.

Here’s how they work, according to the company website: Plastic feedstock, a mix of everything from grocery bags to vehicle dashboards and… → Read More

March 1st, 2011

Genomatica Raises $45 Million To Make Sustainable Chemicals, And Greener Spandex (A Good Thing, In This Case)

Genomatica, a San Diego based producer of chemicals from renewable sources including sugar, raised $45 million in a new round led by VantagePoint Venture Partners, a fund that has committed $2.5 billion to cleantech.

Bright Capital, a venture capital company, joined the round as well with Waste Management, a large provider of waste management services in North America, and the company’s earlier… → Read More

February 1st, 2011

Recyclebank's CEO Jonathan Hsu On New Site, Rewarding Green Behavior Beyond The Bin

Recyclebank — a loyalty rewards program that encourages people to lower the environmental impact of their lifestyles, for example, by recycling more and tossing less — introduced a redesigned website and mobile apps, and began offering new services to customers and partners on Monday.

Chief executive of Recyclebank, Jonathan Hsu, said some of the new features he’s excited about, include… → Read More

July 20th, 2010

A Facebook Game With a Mission: Waste Management to Launch Oceanopolis

Waste Management and its subsidiary Greenopolis are diving into social gaming with a new Facebook app called Oceanopolis. The game will launch in beta, with a full rollout expected in the coming weeks.

In the game, players maintain their own island by recycling trash to build a sustainable community and interacting with friends. Points earned virtually turn into printable coupons that can be used… → Read More

June 17th, 2008

Waste Management Launches a Social Network

Frankly this should just be an application on Facebook and MySpace, it would get better traction. But that’s not what the consultants told Waste Management (a $20 billion company that, well, manages waste), I’m guessing, since today they’ve launched Greenopolis, a social network for greenies.

They’re committed, they say, to connecting people and businesses on green issues, and teach people about… → Read More