Jeanny Yao and Miranda Wang’s company has broken down 10,000 plastic bags. Scientists, social entrepreneurs, friends since high school, and recent Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees, Yao and Wang founded BioCellection about three and a half years ago. The company has developed a technology that is able to chemically recycle polyethylene, which makes up a third of all plastics produced and is difficult to recycle through traditional means. BioCellection turns polyethylene into chemicals that can then be used to create other materials.
Yao was also a participant in our 2016 Social Impact House, and she talked to us about her time with CSIS and where BioCellection is headed. As the Chief Operating Officer, Yao is “very in tune with the daily operations of the lab,” and now focuses on facilitating the team’s growth strategy. Wang is the CEO, and is in charge of external-facing work, such as building partnerships, fundraising, and handling press.
Since opening, the company has expanded to seven employees, and their technology “has pivoted” to focus on just chemistry rather than biotechnology. They are also working on developing their team culture and fostering a “supportive, positive, caring, progressive” environment. But the company’s goal has always been the same: “to create…a technology that can effectively turn plastics into valuable and marketable products.”