Current plastic waste management methods are costly and harmful to the environment — and common biodegradable alternatives, like soggy paper straws, fall short as a replacement.
MetaCycler BioInnovations has changed that by creating a better bio-based plastic alternative that combines the flexible properties of traditional plastic and is 100 per cent biodegradable. The Velocity startup produces polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), a biodegradable polymer, by engineering bacteria to convert waste from milk and cheese production. It’s a solution that upcycles waste from the dairy industry into cost-effective, sustainable bio-based plastics.
“There’s a shift towards sustainable materials like seaweed and sugarcane, but their material properties often fall short compared to conventional plastics,” says Eugenia Dadzie, co-founder and director of communications at MetaCycler. “At MetaCycler, we extract the PHA that can be formed into pellets for plastic manufacturers to use. Our startup tackles the problem of food waste and plastic pollution in one solution.”
Source: ENN
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