PlantSwitch's bio-based pellets aim to replace traditional plastics

A company with the unabashed aim "to replace all petroleum-based plastic with plants" expects to begin manufacturing its compostable material soon at its first plant, in North Carolina.

Two young entrepreneurs have developed what they claim is the most sustainable, lowest-cost, completely compostable "drop-in" plastic replacement, sourced from the abundant supply of agricultural residues — mainly rice hulls.

Their company is called PlantSwitch Inc., and they plan to start compounding, extruding and cutting pellet material in Sanford, N.C., early next year. The firm now has 14 full-time employees. By the end of 2024, they expect to employ 50 and be turning out 50 million pounds of pellets annually.

But that's just the beginning, thanks to the rapidly growing bioplastics market. Global bioplastics production is expected to grow from about 4.9 billion pounds (2.23 million metric tons) in 2022 to almost 13.9 billion pounds (6.3 million tonnes) in 2027, according to Berlin-based trade group European Bioplastics e.V.

PlantSwitch co-founders Dillon Baxter, 26, and Maxime Blandin, 29, are already looking ahead to the day when the 52,000-square-foot Sanford facility becomes the company's research and development hub and they are able to open larger resin manufacturing sites in the United States and overseas. That process could begin by the end of next year with the help of investors, Baxter said recently by phone.

"We expect to max out this facility rather quickly," he added.

The company claims in a news release that "large corporate interests across major industries from fast food and cosmetics brands to pharmacy chains are lining up to come on board." However, Baxter, the company's CEO, said he doesn't want to name names until contracts are in hand and PlantSwitch begins joint marketing efforts with its partners.

Baxter did say, though, that PlantSwitch expects to close a $7.5 million fundraising effort this month. That follows a $4.94 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture about 10 months ago and the February 2022 close of a $3.25 million seed round of funding, which allowed the partners to look beyond compostable cutlery and straws.

Baxter said he and Blandin, head of business development — "he's the one you'll see at all the trade shows" — both played golf for Southern Methodist University in Dallas. They knew they wanted to go into business together and launched the company in January 2020, just in time for COVID-19.

Fossil fuel-filled Dallas wasn't the easiest place to sell a replacement for plastics, but they managed.

"We started the company with the mindset of trying to solve all the issues with the current bioplastics industry," Baxter said. Those issues include cost, sustainability, usability, performance and compostability.

Their feedstock is cheap, readily available and renewable. They've engineered a product that can be used on existing plastics processing machinery. As for performance, "Our resins feel and function like plastic, without the guilt," the PlantSwitch website says.

And, perhaps most striking, they say their material breaks down in less than six months, even in backyard composting. Most bioplastics have traditionally required industrial composting.

Initially, the duo outsourced production to nearby contract manufacturers, making use of agave cactus cellulosic fiber, a waste byproduct of tequila production. But since securing the Sanford facility, they are leaning toward locally available sources, including rice hulls, hemp and wheat straw, which they combine with other bio-based polymers.

PlantSwitch sources the feedstock from a variety of large U.S. agricultural producers.

Baxter declined to disclose more about PlantSwitch's proprietary materials or technology. He did say the company currently isn't looking to replace films or single-use products that are recycled, such as PET bottles. "But at some point, we will."

The focus now is mostly on rigid applications such as disposable eating utensils, cups, containers, bottle caps and tubes. Mainly injection molders and some thermoformers have expressed interest, Baxter said.

Adding to the momentum of the funding successes, PlantSwitch recently recorded its first million-dollar sales quarter a few months ago.