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Stellenbosch spinout makes enzymes that turn bioplastic waste into chemicals

Published

Urobo Biotech says its enzymes break bioplastic reject streams into lactic acid and other saleable material inside existing waste facilities. The company is still pre-commercial and has run pilots with European waste operators.

Urobo Biotech was co-founded by Dominique Rocher and Dr Wessel Myburgh. The company wants to bring the technology to South Africa. Its core science is based at Stellenbosch University.

The company says European waste operators spend up to $7 million (more than R116m) a year burning bioplastic reject streams. Urobo says its process turns that waste into profit. Its own modelling suggests about two tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent could be avoided for every tonne of bioplastic treated.

The results come from a two-litre reactor, and they do not automatically translate to industrial performance. Rocher said he expects to see the technology working at full scale in waste facilities within five years.

Rocher said: "We recover that value in the existing infrastructure," He also said a South African technology licensed into European infrastructure brings value home and shows that local deep-tech can compete globally.

Key facts

Who
Dominique Rocher (Co-founder of Urobo Biotech); Dr Wessel Myburgh (Co-founder of Urobo Biotech); Urobo Biotech (Stellenbosch University spinout firm developing bioplastic-waste enzymes); Stellenbosch University (Institution where the technology originated and where Urobo's core science is…)
What
Urobo Biotech, a Stellenbosch University spinout co-founded by Dominique Rocher and Dr Wessel Myburgh, has created enzymes that break down bioplastic reject streams into lactic acid and other saleable material. The company remains pre-commercial, with pilots run with European waste operators, and it wants to bring the technology to South Africa.
When
24 October 2026
Where
Stellenbosch, Europe, South Africa
Status
Reported

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