American wins $630,000 in Global Green Challenge Prize for Plastic Made from Greenhouse Gas

CEO and engineer Molly Morse is the 2012 winner of the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge, the world’s largest annual award for sustainable entrepreneurship. Morse received $630,000 (€500,000) to develop her promising green business. Her company, Mango Materials, uses bacteria to turn methane gas into affordable biodegradable plastic. Two other finalists, Daan Weddepohl of Amsterdam and the New Zealander Nick Gerritsen, won $125,000 (€100,000) each for their CO₂-reducing business ideas.

The Postcode Lottery Green Challenge announced the prizewinners’ names last night at a special dinner in New York organized by the Dutch Postcode Lottery in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). The Green Challenge jury, made up of seven international experts, selected Mango Materials out of a field of over 500 entries.

“Thanks to this generous prize, soon consumers will be able to buy goods made from biodegradable plastic for an affordable price,” Morse said. “And that’s going to be so much better for the environment. Our bioplastic is an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional plastic, which piles up in nature and garbage dumps.”

Daan Weddepohl of Amsterdam won $125,000 to develop his promising Peerby website and app. The business enables people to borrow and rent goods from neighbours. Nick Gerritsen of New Zealand won $125,000 for his company, CarbonScape, which uses industrial microwave technology to turn waste biomass into high-grade alternatives to nonrenewable fossil fuel products.

Every year, in the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge, the Dutch Postcode Lottery invites people around the world to send in their plans for sustainable, creative, innovative businesses that will reduce CO₂ emissions.