The challenge for industrial biotechnology is to be able to make feedstocks for the chemical and polymer industries using renewable or waste feedstocks. We have current programs on the valorisation of waste components of distillers grains (DDGS) and sugar beet. Distillers grains is the material left over after biofuel fermentation and contains cellulose, hemicellulose and xylan. Sugar beet waste contains pectin, cellulose and hemicellulose. We are currently looking at ways of channeling the monomers from DDGS protein and sugar beet pectin into a range of other compounds using metabolic engineering, synthetic pathway design and biocatalysis. A challenging conversion would be to channel large amounts of carbon through metabolic pathways of a microbial chassis to make the nylon precursor 6-aminohexanoic acid. This research is closely aligned to sustainable high-value chemicals manufacturing research in an EPSRC-funded Sustainable Chemistry project, and fits within the EPSRC strategic priority area of Manufacturing the Future