Around 50% of plastic packaging is used once, thrown away and, depending on its structure and composition, can take decades or hundreds of years to decompose. Notpla Ltd has created a plastic alternative, made from plants and brown seaweed, that biodegrades naturally in four to six weeks. Seaweed is an ideal base material to work with as it grows rapidly and does not compete with food crops for land or freshwater.
The company’s first product, Ooho, is a flexible biodegradable packaging for drinks and sauces that can also be eaten. Ideal for products with a short-use life, Ooho can replace plastic cups and bottles for running events, races and other sporting occasions.
Notpla’s second product is a coating for paperboard. Lined cardboard is usually coated with plastic made from oil or corn, both non sustainable. Trialled by Just Eat, the boxes are designed for the food takeaway industry to be both waterproof and greaseproof, are biodegradable and can even be re-pulped.Pierre-Yves Paslier is one of Notpla’s Co-Founders and is its Co-CEO. Pierre became an SME Leader in 2019 and says that the programme has benefited him in several ways.
“The leadership training has been great at honing my tactical skills. And the mentoring plus peer-to-peer interactions have given me new perspectives on how other organisations evolve as they scale up.”
Notpla is growing quickly. In the two years since he became an SME Leader, the company’s workforce has doubled to over 40 staff and has raised nearly £5 million in seed funding and grants. Pierre anticipates the workforce doubling in size again with a strong emphasis on R&D that will help bring a wave of new sustainable packaging solutions.
Associated Programme
