Paving way for plastic waste to become road construction material
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Magorium co-founder Oh Chu Xian with prototypes of road construction material the start-up has developed. The firm's road construction material prototypes have incorporated plastic bottles, plastic bags and milk cartons - waste that has been reprocessed into pellets to be added to the asphalt when paving roads.
ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
Magorium was founded in 2019 to turn plastic waste into road construction material. In less than two years, the start-up has clinched several awards for its innovative technology and received grants as it moves to address plastic pollution in a sustainable way.
Co-founder Oh Chu Xian, 27, was among 32 individuals in Singapore who were included in Forbes' 30 Under 30 Asia list this year.
"We're most proud of our technology, which is the core of Magorium, and how it can potentially solve the plastic waste problem, which has been unsolvable for decades," she said.
The firm's road construction material prototypes have incorporated plastic bottles, plastic bags and milk cartons - waste that has been reprocessed into pellets to be added to the asphalt when paving roads.
Magorium's product has been in testing with the Land Transport Authority and National Environment Agency.
Ms Oh, who is pursuing a degree in business management at Singapore Management University, said its third-generation prototype works with contaminated plastic waste, which means the firm does not compete with others for the relatively small pool of clean plastic waste.
While Magorium has been able to draw on some $120,000 from grants and prize money, it is now in talks with external investors for funding as it looks to scale up. The funds would be channelled towards an integrated system that can both recycle plastic waste and produce its construction material, Ms Oh said.
Choo Yun Ting
