Producing biodegradable packaging
A viable alternative to plastic packaging will soon be produced in Rangitīkei.
Plentyful is a new company that creates sustainable plastic products and is working to get production under way.
Chief executive Jayden Klinac spoke at an event at the Te Matapihi Bulls Community Centre on Thursday about the future of plastic packaging based on biopolymers, which are made from natural sources. Plentyful has an exclusive licence for a patent for the use of a technology in New Zealand and Australia, from a company in the United States.
The technology converts organic waste – food waste, dairy, viticulture and forestry waste – into compostable, environmentally friendly biopolymer ‘‘PHA’’, which can replace oil-based plastics.
Work is being done to get the PHA plant up and running that will take in waste every day.
Klinac said they would take biomass and grow bacteria, which produced PHA when the bacteria stopped being fed.
The PHA is extracted and used instead of oil-based plastics. Klinac said PHA could be recycled, would naturally degrade and there were no microplastics. The process takes two to three weeks.
‘‘Waste is only waste if you throw it in a hole. It is a resource if you use it differently.’’ Plentyful would start with replacing coated paper board, things like cardboard ice cream containers that had a plastic lining inside which could not be recycled, with PHA liners.
Klinac said the business had massive potential as organic waste was a huge problem. ‘‘There is definitely a high demand for it. We can’t build the plant quick enough. Brands and big customers have a huge drive to move towards sustainable models.’’
It would depend on the feed stock, the waste, but Klinac hoped the yield would increase over time as the technology improved. ‘‘We work on a no-waste basis. Anything left over goes into another process.’’ Klinac said plastic was so durable that every piece produced still existed. But if the PHA product ended up in the soil, ocean, or an animal’s stomach, the product was not benign and would break down.
Marton was chosen for its central location in being able to bring biowaste feed stock in and out. In July the Government announced it was giving Plentyful $2 million as a loan or equity to build its manufacturing facility in Marton, from the Regional Strategic Partnership Fund.
Plentyful will work with another new Marton company – GreenChem, run by chief executive Kevin Snowdon – which aimed to bring the extraction of biomaterials to a wider market. GreenChem breaks wood down to lignin, which can be used as biofuel, which can then be turned into biopolymers for compostable plastics. Hardwoods, such as pine, are best.
Snowdon said it was an environmental opportunity to stop things going to landfill, help prevent climate change and have an impact on the future of sustainability.
He hoped the plant would be under way in a month. He was working to secure a supply of feed stock.