Compostable Seaweed-based packaging gaining traction as a plastic alternative

Single-use plastic packaging can be incredibly convenient –– and from an ecological point of view, such packaging is also an environmental challenge. Many companies are working to limit the eco-impact of billions of pounds of such products, but one compostable substitute for plastic packaging alternative is particularly intriguing. Seaweed, an eco-friendly, natural and renewable raw materials.

Yes, seaweed, also known as macroalgae, refers to thousands of aquatic, plant-like species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. Harvard University has said that seaweed quarantines up to 20 times more carbon per acre than trees.

Two companies –– London-based Notpla Ltd. and U.S. startup Sway –– are helping to lead the charge into seaweed-based, eco-friendly packaging materials. Notpla explains on its website that abundantly available seaweed “grows quickly and needs no freshwater, land or fertilizer. It captures carbon and makes the surrounding waters less acidic.”

The company –– a 2022 winner of the UK’s prestigious Earthshot Prize awarded by Prince William –– made headlines in early March when it announced a deal with a leading sports and leisure caterer. The exclusive agreement with Levy UK + Ireland, the sports venue arm of food services giant Compass Group UK & Ireland, will see Levy using an estimated 75 million items of Notpla’s seaweed-based, biodegradable food packaging over the next three years.

Notpla says that Levy’s third-party analysis confirmed that its sustaninable and ecological packaging reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70 percent compared with conventional alternative packaging materials. Its current product range includes seaweed-coated food containers, dry food sachets, food oil pipettes, energy gel pods, rigid cutlery, and even rigid packaging such as caps and closures. One of its best-known applications is its edible liquid bubble, called Ooho. To date, the firm claims its products have already replaced 7.2 million pieces of single-use plastic from entering our environment.

Among the first sporting venues to embrace Notpla’s sustainable and compostable packaging options are The Kia Oval (home of Surrey County Cricket Club); Aston Villa Football Club; Twickenham Stadium (the official home of England Rugby); and Dublin’s Aviva Stadium. Over the coming months, Notpla said that more than 50 other sites will join the Kia Oval in serving up their visitors’ food orders in its biodegradable packaging.

As a venue specialist business that serves millions of meals a year, Levy has the scale to make a positive impact and effect change. It has already introduced carbon-labeling on its menus to help customers make sustainable choices; banned air freight across all its fruit and vegetables; serves seasonally appropriate menus; and has reduced its carbon emissions by as much as 60 percent by only serving plant-based desserts across its portfolio.
Notpla developed and brought its compostable food packaging products to the market in 2019. Since then it has scaled up production from tens of thousands of units a year to tens of millions of units.

Meanwhile, Sway, based in northern California’s Bay Area, also has been gathering accolades of its own and taking steps to scale up production of its seaweed-based, home-compostable replacements for plastic packaging. In mid-February Sway announced what it calls “a breakthrough technology that, for the first time, will enable seaweed to replace flexible plastics at scale.”

It says its patent-pending Thermoplastic Seaweed resin (TPSea™) represents an entirely new category of biopolymer resin. The 100 percent bio-based, natura and compostable material is microplastic-free and is made from a regenerative ocean crop that can replenish ecosystems and support coastal communities.

It launched the new resin in January in Paris at Biofabricate 2024, which describes itself as “a gathering of the world’s innovators, brands and investors leading the transition to a bio-made future.”
Sway says it designed its new technology to mesh seamlessly with the most scaled plastic manufacturing systems available. Its current product portfolio made with melt-processable TPSea™ includes flexible packaging applications such as polybags, retail bags, and food wrappers for consumer brands, representing approximately 30 percent of all single-use plastic packaging.
TPSea quickly biodegrades in home composting systems and serves as the basis for Thermoplastic Seaweed Film, which the firm says could replace packaging such as plastic bags, pouches and wrappers in fashion and beyond.

At the same time, Sway announced it had secured further funding. Third Nature Investments led the successful $5 million seed round, which also includes investment from The Helm, Alante Capital, BAM Ventures, Superorganism, and others. Sway said the funds will directly support the scaling of its product portfolio, and catalyze adoption by fashion, food, and home goods brands such as J.Crew, Burton, and others associated with the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize.

Sway won that award, powered by the accelerator program called Lonely Whale, in 2023. Tom Ford calls its prize, launched in 2020, “the only global competition focused on creating scalable and biologically degradable alternatives to traditional thin-film plastic polybags.”

The latest round of funding builds on the $2.5 million in pre-seed funds that the 4-year-old firm raised in 2021.

“Clean oceans, abundant biodiversity, and thriving coastal economies all intertwine with Sway’s success as we accelerate production in 2024,” says Julia Marsh, CEO & co-founder of Sway. “We believe everyday materials should help to replenish the planet from sea to soil. The launch of our thermoplastic seaweed materials, along with an influx of new capital targeted at scaling production, signifies tangible progress toward a more circular future.”

Doug Forster, chief sourcing officer at apparel company J.Crew, said: “Regenerative practices and sustainable packaging are active focus areas for J.Crew Group. We’re thrilled to see Sway’s steady progression toward market-scale production that will empower brands like ours to transition into next-generation materials."