Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Blog
December 10, 2021 08:30 AM

Kickstart: A food waste obsession and edible packaging

Steve Toloken
Assistant Managing Editor
Plastics News Staff
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Notpla Ltd.
    A food waste obsession and edible packaging

    Ever since the city where I live added food waste composting to our regular curbside trash and recycling bins, I've had this minor obsessive question.

    Why can't more of our packaging be made of new materials that don't force us to throw them away or figure out if we can or cannot recycle them? Wouldn't it be environmentally better if we could regularly compost or even eat the packaging?

    So, this story from Fast Company about the seaweed plastic maker Notpla Ltd. (short for "not plastic") caught my eye.

    The startup company makes seaweed-based thin plastic film for packaging things like instant coffee, bite-sized water servings and condiments, as well as manufacturing waterproof coatings that help to make to-go containers biodegradable.

    The little sachet-style packets are edible and biodegradable, the company says.

    Notpla, as we reported in 2019, received some startup funding from the U.K. government.

    The Fast Company story said it recently raised another $13 million from investors and, in a line probably written for me, noted that a teabag of the material will dissolve in water, adding nutrients and fiber to the tea. Game on.

    U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization
    UN looks at the ‘good, bad and ugly' of agricultural plastics

    Advocates of plastic packaging often point to its value in keeping food from rotting, extending its shelf life and in the process saving greenhouse gas emissions.

    A new report from the United Nations takes it back a step, however, and looks at the pros and cons of our use of plastics in agriculture.

    The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released on Dec. 7 what it said was its first detailed analysis of the topic, calling it an "Assessment of agricultural plastics and their sustainability: a call for action."

    It pointed to plastic products "greatly" helping productivity, like mulch films that control weed growth and reduce the need for pesticides, fertilizer and irrigation. All those are positives, along with things like greenhouse films and nets to extend growing seasons.

    Those are points made by plastics firms and university researchers, like this story in our pages earlier this year.

    But — and it's a sizable qualifier — there's microplastics.

    FAO said its experts believe that soils "receive far greater quantities of microplastics" than the oceans, even though oceans have gotten most of the public attention. All that plastic, as it breaks into microscopic pieces, can get into our food and ultimately into us.

    "Since 93 percent of global agricultural activities take place on land, there is an obvious need for further investigation in this area," FOA said.

    The U.N. agency recommends rethinking how plastics are used, when possible, in a "6R" approach: refuse, redesign, reduce, reuse, recycle and recover.

    Questions, yes, but look at all this investment

    At Plastics News, we spend a lot of time reporting on the environmental questions facing the industry and the changes underway, like in the first two items in today's Kickstart.

    But stepping back from the big-picture headlines about long-term future of the industry, it's good to look at conditions on the ground, right now, and how companies are actually spending their money.

    My colleague Catherine Kavanaugh takes a deep dive this week with a series of stories on plastics machinery markets, a good indicator of how plastics processors see their near-term futures.

    The answer for 2021 is that things have looked pretty good.

    As Catherine reported in one story, purchases of injection molding machines are projected to hit 5,000 this year in the United States, a 25 percent jump from 2020.

    As well, in the blow molding and in the extrusion machinery segments, business remains good.

    While there are many changes on the horizon for the industry — think use of recycled content, calls for more environmentally friendly product design or investors asking companies detailed questions about their sustainability plans — right now, there's a lot of investment in the industry.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Avient, Eaton, Vitamix, Mum land in top workplaces list for Cleveland area
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Biden sets US goal to replace 90% of plastics with biomaterials
    2
    Redline's ‘outrageous cultural behaviors' retain top employees
    3
    Industry sees Biden bioplastics goal as serious signal
    4
    Official says Norfolk Southern fire likely started in rail car containing resin
    5
    Commodity prices rise; engineering resins drop
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified