Summary

Cocopallet is working to reduce the reliance on wooden pallets for one way shipments from Asia. The company produces pallets made from the fibers of the husk of the coconut, a vast majority of which (85% or so) is typically wasted or burned. By switching to an alternative that is completely biodegradable and doesn’t lead to more cutting of wood, the company is creating a market for this waste material. Typically, pallets, mainly used for transporting goods from Asia to the west are produced from softwood. However, Asia doesn’t produce much softwood anymore, so these pallets originate from wood grown in Scandinavia, North America, New Zealand and Australia, which are then transported and processed in Asia, making the whole process inefficient and environmentally unsustainable. To make the pallets, coconut husks are heated and pressed to create the pallets. (Source) The company took a strong stance against the use of any synthetic resins, which made the R&D process long, but the current product is now almost completely made from coconut husks and uses little to no additives. The pallets are 100% biodegradable, and are intended to replace one -way single-use export pallets. It should be noted that after use, these biobased pallets can simple be shredded and can be used to improve soil for local agriculture. Wood prices in Asia have been rising, which makes the company’s pallets even more competitive, in addition to the sustainability advantages that Cocopallet provides. Additionally, the company supports local farmer communities and buys the coconut husk for a fair price in massive quantities, which provides further disincentives against biomass being burned. Currently, the company is preparing the construction of a large factory in Karnataka , South India.

Story

Founder Michiel Vos founded the company in 2012 in Amsterdam to counteract the wastefulness caused by one way shipments of pallets from Asia to the west. He worked with technology originally developed by Wageningen University, where researched Jan Van Dam, a plant fiber scientist, came across a coconut pallet prototype by man from Indonesia, who presented a primitive Indonesian process. The researchers revived the ancient technique and developed Cocopallet. (Source)

Pic credit: Materials District (right) and Incrivel (top)