Free SCItalk: How Earthshot winner Notpla is ‘making packaging disappear’

SCItalk – Wednesday 28 June 2023 16.00 – 17.00 (online)

In December 2022 Prince William announced that a revolutionary new use for seaweed had won the globally recognised Earthshot Prize. London based Notpla were winners in the Prize’s ‘Build a Waste-Free World’ category. The Notpla entry focused on the team’s use of seaweed as an alternative to plastic packaging. In this June SCItalk, Notpla’s Tristan Kaye will explain the background to their entry and why the market is expanding globally to reflect seaweed’s versatility and multiple benefits.

The annual Earthshot Prize was founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in 2020. It offers a £1,000,000 global environmental prize to find and accelerate sustainable solutions to repair the planet. The goal is to enable the route to a more stable planet by 2030 where communities, oceans and biodiversity can flourish.

Notpla – an abbreviation of ‘not plastic’ – is a sustainable packaging start-up founded in 2014. The company produces a non-chemically modified polysaccharide based material, classified as a natural organic substance by EU law. It is made from seaweed and plants and disappears naturally. Like fruit peel, it is both ‘biodegradable’ and ‘home compostable.’

Tristan is Notpla’s commercial director. During the talk, he will explain how seaweed is becoming a key alternative to single-use plastics. He said:

‘Seaweed is one of nature’s most abundant and renewable resources, capable of making packaging which breaks down completely. It is a key weapon in the fight against climate change and it doesn’t need fresh water, fertilisers or land for cultivation. People should remember that 50% of plastic packaging is used once and then discarded. In contrast, Notpla biodegrades naturally within four-to-six weeks.’

Notpla is renowned within the packaging and food industry, aiming to become a household name and further expanding to other industries such as cosmetics and fashion.

Tristan previously worked in the oil and gas industry across South East Asia. It was here that he experienced first-hand the issue of plastics accumulating in oceans and on beaches. He values working with a team to address this global societal issue.

ENDS

For more information or an interview with Tristan Kaye please contact Maxine Boersma on 07771 563373 or Maxine.boersma@soci.org.