In more exciting news on the front of green innovation, the New York Times reports on Envion, a company that has developed a $5 million plant in Maryland that can convert low-value recycled plastic, like the type used in planters and margarine containers, into a low-grade fuel.

Envion’s chief executive, Michael Han, says the fuel could be used in a so-called oil cocktail – one barrel of which will be capable of producing “two or three days’ worth of electricity for a typical house. The price of electricity per gallon comes to 7 to 12 cents, the company says.”

The process by which the plastics are broken down involves infrared heat to melt down the waste, controlling the temperature, and ultimately making use of about 82% of the waste. For every ton of waste brought into the plant, 3-5 barrels of the finished compound will be created. The sludge leftover from the process can also be used for energy, although it would be less efficient.

Envion hopes to expand and license this technology out to the rest of the world, where private financing companies are looking to fund the next big breakthrough in green technology and environmental innovation. If the process catches on, that means that the millions of pounds of plastic bags used every day in the United States could easily be converted into cheap energy. The larger question that remains unanswered, is how clean is the fuel being created? It may be cheaper, but is truly a cleaner burning alternative to fossil fuels?

It’s interesting that this news comes on the heels of Starbucks‘ announcement of its new recycling pilot program in New York City this week. If all of the Starbucks cups produced and used in this country and the rest of the world could be converted into energy, our decades long addiction to traditional fossil fuels could be radically curtailed. Further proof that now is an excellent moment to be involved the business of green tech.

[image via Peter Kaminski]