Although bioplastics have been touted as a promising sustainable alternative to traditional plastics for some time, making bio-based materials that perform well and are cost-effective has been extremely challenging. PlantSwitch’s resin exhibits properties that closely resemble traditional plastics, making it useful for making a variety of products such as eating utensils, cosmetics containers and various consumer goods such as bottle caps, toothbrushes and coffee pods.
Another challenge for bioplastics is that although many of them are compostable, they often require specialized commercial facilities to provide the right conditions for the plastic to breakdown. Products made from PlantSwitch’s resin can be composted in these facilities, but will also fully breakdown in backyard compost in less than 6 months.
The fact that agricultural waste, not a primary crop such as corn or sugar cane, is used as the raw material not only boosts the sustainability aspects but also help with cost efficiency. PlantSwitch’s resin is also a drop-in solution, meaning that plastics manufacturers can use their existing machines and processes to create plastic products. This means there’s no need to buy new equipment or figure out new processing approaches when switching to the plant-based resin.
