He described the scale of the problem created by plastic waste, saying 62% of plastic waste found in the ocean is from either food or beverage packaging and that more than three-quarters of EU citizens (77%) have microplastics in their blood.
“Notpla uses seaweed, one of nature’s most abundant and fastest growing resources, to replicate the qualities of plastics replacing millions of items of single-use plastic packaging. Other benefits of using seaweed include it doesn’t compete for crops on land, actively sequesters CO2 and de-acidifies the ocean, boosts ocean diversity and uplifts coastal communities as well as being biodegradable.”
It is used in the company’s Ooho product, which provides liquid in a thin, flexible layer that is 100% naturally biodegradable and entirely edible - a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic packaging.
These had already been used at drinks stations in marathon races, eliminating the tens of thousands of plastic bottles usually left. He said there were plans to launch Ooho drink bubbles with Decathlon, the French sports good retailer.
Notpla has already partnered with food and soft FM services provider Compass Group and its stadium and venue caterer Levy, with its food-to-go packaging replacing 10m single-use plastics to date at Wimbledon, the O2 Arena, Chelsea FC, Aston Villa FC, and Harlequins rugby club as well as other venues.
He said: “Independently reviewed data showed that Notpla’s seaweed-based packaging produces up to 70% less CO2e greenhouse gas emissions than the analysed conventional bioplastic alternatives like polypropylene and polylactic acid.”
And Notpla was now developing seaweed-based cutlery and has already created an ice cream mini spoon with a ‘mouth-feel’ much more acceptable than wood. But Paslier said plastic was still a very useful material and would still be needed for some uses, such as medical ones.
In 2022 Notpla won Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, which aims to find the most impactful solutions to the world’s biggest environmental challenges. The company received £1m to further its research and Paslier said it had since secured a further £20m in investment to help scale up its work.