Twenty-one-year-old Julian Brown wants to get rid of all the plastic waste. According to The Root, he has started the business, Naturejab, which turns plastic waste into fuel. 

At 17 years old, he started welding in high school. Brown has used those skills to create a technology to help him achieve his goal. He used pyrolysis, which is a method of burning plastic at extremely high temperatures and turning it into liquid. It must be 500 degrees Celsius or over 900 degrees Fahrenheit, and without oxygen to perform this technique.  

While some were skeptical of the value of his fuel and even said it would destroy engines, he took it to ASAP Labs, a major fuel testing company, and it passed with flying colors. 

One ASAP Labs employee said, “It appears that this diesel probably burns cleaner than typical diesel.” And they added that “the results don’t lie.”

The Atlanta native is extremely ambitious. He said, “There will be no such thing as plastic waste — only untapped energy.”

While he has launched this monumental company, it will need funding to keep it going, and it is looking for donors now. 









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He’s optimistic, though, and isn’t quitting. He said, “Instead, we should come at it from a mindset of ‘How can this be done’ instead of ‘Can this be done.'”

Eni, an energy company in Italy, is also using pyrolysis for its recycling plant. It breaks down 6,600 tons of plastic every year. 

Unfortunately, plastic waste is a massive problem. According to Statista, there are “360 million metric tons per year.”

When these plastics break down, they break into microplastics. These tiny particles, which are 5 millimeters, are everywhere — in fish, animals, the ocean, and the soil.

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While Brown’s innovative recycling plastic idea is great, you can also choose products with plastic-free options, such as reusable coffee and water mugs and reusable shopping bags. Doing this cuts down on the plastic that needs to be recycled. 

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