Notpla’s regenerative packaging, made from seaweed and plants, offers a unique, scalable solution to replace single-use plastics without releasing harmful chemicals. The Notpla’s packaging can be disposed of in three ways: 100% recyclable, home-compostable, or industrially compostable. Notpla’s packaging technology is manufactured with components from seaweed and plants, creating biodegradable materials that mimic certain properties of plastic but then break down naturally. Notpla brings together an interdisciplinary team of experts in material science, engineering, biology, and design to make single-use packaging that does not last much longer than its contents. Some products currently offered include seaweed-coated containers that can be edible, compostable, or simply dissolved in water; sauce sachets to be used for ketchup, spices, or other sauces; food oil pipettes to be used for dispensing food oils; and rigid cutlery to be used for eating. The advantage of using seaweed, one of the planet’s most abundant sources of biomass, is that it grows quickly without competing with food crops, and does not require fertilizer or fresh water. The packaging can disappear in as little as four to six weeks, leaving no trace behind.
