Summary

Mi Terro aims to replace single-use plastic by creating home-compostable bioplastic packaging materials from plant-based agricultural waste. The traditional plastic used for food and beverage packaging is currently only partly recyclable, and unfortunately, only a small percentage of that even makes it to recycling. Rigid food plastic packaging is partly recyclable but flexible packaging, which is a growing segment of the world’s packaging market seldom is. Mi Terro’s technology can use any agricultural input including plant, dairy and vitamin supplement by-products to create its bioplastic. (Source) According to the company, unlike current alternatives to microplastics, which are based on plant polysaccharides, such as cellulose and algae, Mi Terro’s plant protein materials do not rely on chemical cross-linking for their performance, which enables them to decompose quickly and completely in the natural environment. Their technology re-engineers agricultural waste into plastic-alternative packaging material and is comparable to LDPE film, from a price perspective. The company claims that its bioplastic is home compostable, ocean degradable, heat sealable, and potentially edible. (Source)

Story

Founder Robert Luo was visiting his uncle’s dairy farm where he saw buckets and buckets of dairy by-product waste – such as whey and sludge. His uncle asked him, almost as a joke to see if he could sell the excess waste to somebody. This started Luo’s curiosity in waste and circular processes, and he got to thinking about chemistries required to convert this waste to a usable plastic-like material. In the beginning, the company was focused on using the milk and plant protein to develop a textile fibre, but now the company focuses on creating bioplastic packaging. The company was founded in 2018.

Pic credit: Mi Terro (right) and Food Bev (top)