“From a pile of seaweed to a packet of soy sauce.
The London startup Notpla has created a plastic alternative from seaweed that’s biodegradable – and even edible. And it’s hoping it could put a dent in the 300 million tons of plastic waste humans generate each year.
Notpla’s natural plastic-like casing is biodegradable within four to six weeks, the company says, compared to the several hundred years it takes synthetic plastics to biodegrade.
The membrane is made from seaweed farmed in northern France. It’s dried and ground down into powder, and then a secret recipe transforms it into a thick, gloopy fluid, which dries to form a plastic-like substance.
The company shot to fame five years ago with edible water pods that you swallow after use – they proved popular among runners at the London Marathon and other events. The company’s now exploring other uses for the technology.
Seaweed is more eco-friendly than starch-based alternatives since it doesn’t need land, or time, to grow.
‘It’s one of the resources that is the most abundant,’ Notpla cofounder Rodrigo Garcia said. ‘One of the seaweeds we use grows up to 1 metre per day. Can you imagine something growing that fast? You don’t need fertiliser, you don’t need to put water on it, and it’s a resource that we have been using for a long time.’
Later this year, Notpla is launching a new line of disposable food containers that are free from synthetic chemicals and are covered with a waterproof and greaseproof lining.
The cardboard completely decomposes in three to six weeks, compared to three months for untreated cardboard and hundreds of years for cardboard lined with a kind of plastic known as PLA.”
View the whole story here: https://www.sciencealert.com/this-startup-is-making-soft-plastics-out-of-seaweed-and-we-can-even-eat-them