05/07/2025
Good morning and happy Saturday dear friends. So the plastic journey begins. How did I find myself nestled by the Mississippi River on a beautiful spring day, touring a 400,000 square foot manufacturing facility with the top brass from the city of Burlington, Iowa and reps from the Burlington Northern Rail. I generally work with tech companies, helping them raise capital and advising on their sale and acquisition of businesses. Because of the AI boom, there has been an explosive demand for compute resources at datacenters and they require more power than is available. In an effort to have more and greener power, I started hunting around for new energy technologies. I came across this plastic to diesel tech and became fascinated at the prospect to tackle the plastic waste problem here in the US and abroad. I went down the rabbit hole and learned some frightening facts. 50 million tons of plastic per year go into landfills or shipped to other countries, mostly in Africa. That is 93% of plastic. All that washing and sorting many of us do is for nothing. Just for show. Still ends up in landfills. Many of which are reaching capacity. The more I learned, the more clear my vision became to deploy these refineries all across the world. They are totally enclosed, no pollution, and require very little power. And most importantly, they are profitable without any subsidies. Sustainability must be sustainable. So I went on a journey to find the first location, and that led me to the quiet old industrial town of Burlington, Iowa. Join me on this journey. When you are inspired, and you take the first step, the universe will back you like the greatest army. Breathe deep, stretch high to the sky, allow a smile to wash across your face, and I wish you all a most beautiful day filled with love and gratitude. πππ
