Imagine if all your hard plastic bottles – single use, rigid, plastic containers (like laundry detergents) and soft plastics (bread bags) – could all be replaced with a fully compostable alternative?
One that uses a natural, abundant product we have plenty of, and then it can be home compostable when you’re finished with it?
Here’s an amazing idea to think about…
If we stop making plastic – it follows that we can stop having to recycle plastics in the future too! Wouldn’t that be awesome!?
Introducing Fionnuala Quin, founder and CEO of Kelpy. She is an entrepreneur with a strong vision for the future, and seaweed fanatic, who learnt from an early age that the ocean is a lifeforce and must be protected.
The daughter of a fisherman, Fionnuala grew up in the coastal crayfishing town of Jurien Bay in Western Australia, where she learned about fish farming, and the importance of restocking oceans, from her father.
When her family moved to Jervis Bay in at the beginning of 2020, not long after bushfires had torn through the region, she decided to embark on building a business that would have a positive impact on the climate.
Now her pioneering Australian company Kelpy is doing just that. They’re aiming to end plastic pollution with a world-first, injection mouldable, seaweed bioplastic, solution.
A solution that, importantly, still keeps the functionality of current plastics - but WITHOUT destroying our environment.
Her Australian business is situated in Jervis Bay, NSW and is an exciting bioplastics start-up we all should know about.
Kelpy has announced the launch of an innovative, hyper-scalable, bioplastic pellet made from seaweed and the company is in discussions with some of the largest hard plastic container users in the world.
What an amazing idea – stop making all of our rigid packaging containers from plastic – help save the oceans, and fix the recycling issue at the same time.
Their seaweed for the new bioplastic is being sustainably grown and harvested around the world.
And it is marine degradable and home compostable.
HERE’S SOME OF THE ISSUES WE ARE – AS A GLOBAL COMMUNITY – FACING WITH PLASTICS
If you’ve read some of my previous IG & FB posts, you’ll have seen info I’ve shared regarding the amazing fact that over 50% of the world’s oxygen is supplied by the ocean.
But plastics and microplastics, as you would now be aware, are a huge problem for the oceans of the world.
The UN has confirmed the shocking fact that, around the world, one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute, while up to five trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year.
In total, half of all plastic produced is designed for single-use purposes – where it is used just once and then thrown away.
With 400 million plastic single-use items being produced each year – and up to 200 million of those items ending up in the ocean, our planet is choking on plastic.
And only about 10% of hard plastics are recycled - so a new approach is needed immediately!
THE POSITIVES ABOUT Kelpy SEAWEED BIO-PACKAGING
Kelpy has designed their kelp pellets to be used in standard injection moulding equipment without the need for retrofitting. This makes the transition to more sustainable packaging simpler, quicker, and more cost-efficient than it has been previously.
The kelp pellets can be used in creating both soft, malleable plastics (such as sachets, films, and packaging) and rigid plastic (for uses like food containers, soap and detergent containers, drink bottles, cosmetics packaging and even sunglasses).
The kelp pellets can even be customised, when they are made, to have a set lifecycle. This means that Kelpy’s bioplastic packaging can be made to break down in your home compost within months.
Since its launch in March 2021, this female-founded startup has already commenced pilots with several multinational companies for the exclusive solution it presents, including Colgate Palmolive and Unilever. Kelpy has also earned $150,000 in funding through Startmate and The NSW MVP Grant.
This year they were the first Australian startup to make it into the AB-Inbev 100+accelerator program – which helps startups that are delivering breakthrough advancements using sustainable practices and goals.
You may have heard about other seaweed bioplastic companies.
But a key difference with Kelpy is that it is the first to create a 100% bio-derived, rigid packaging solution that can be made using seaweed from any region around the world.
This means that Kelpy has a world-wide solution, with the flexibility of using many seaweed varieties. Which also means a supply can be available around the world for use wherever manufacturers are situated.
ETHICAL AND SUSTAINABLE:
The seaweed pellets can also be made from ‘waste’ kelp and pelagic sargassum (a floating seaweed that is a major environmental problem in the Atlantic Ocean and other areas - due to its very vigorous growth).
Because these seaweeds can also be used as a viable source for bioplastics – this may help to remedy this challenging environmental issue as well.
With breakthrough polymer science, the Kelpy pellet innovation claims to be the most sustainable, versatile, and affordable seaweed solution available.
And they are an AUSTRALIAN company which is great news too.
JULY is World Ocean Month…
With 80 percent kelp loss around Australia, Kelpy is committed to sourcing ethically and regeneratively.
They are also working closely with First Nations communities from around the world – who have been using seaweed for food, storage, clothing, and domestic uses for thousands of years.
And they help seaweed growers to harvest ethically and sustainably from their seaweed farms, as well as assist with aquaculture bio-remediation and help to find sustainable ways to reduce invasive blooms by harvesting for an eco friendly product.
When we involve communities that rely on ocean crops for their economic survival, we make them an important priority, and help improve their lifestyles as our climate warms.
I'm very aware that all our resources on this Planet are precious and even with kelp farming and removing waste kelp, there is still a risk that we may overuse these new resources in the future.
But I just had to share such an exciting breakthrough to replace single use hard and soft plastics with you!
Please share this blog with everyone you know who cares about our environment and our planet - it's sooo important for us all to know that new solutions are being discovered - ones that will make positive difference in the future for our kids and grandkids. 💗😊
Thanks. 🐟💙😊
This blog will be here to re-visit, share and (I hope) inspire for the future.
Remember to bookmark it so you can come back to it at any time. 😊 Thanks.
If you enjoyed this blog, please feel welcome to leave a comment to let others know about our blog.
Twizzle Designs offers truly eco-friendly, Australian made, sustainable gifts for your friends and family.
We also donate to 💚 Planting trees 💚 Supporting conservation of Australian native wildlife, and 💚 Helping to save our planet by donating to environmentally aware charities. Because it's super important to us. 😊
