After 15 years of development, Timeplast is ready to bring its breakthrough PET-free plastic substitute to market. The material has the potential to replace conventional plastics along with metals, glass and paper – and it disintegrates in hours rather than centuries.
The startup has already raised almost $5 million in its crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine. With hours left in the campaign, it has effectively reached its goal of $5 million to fund real-world trials of its working prototype and prepare for the launch of its first single-use plastic substitute in target markets across Europe, Latin America, India and the United States.
The Bioplastics Market Has Struggled To Overcome Key Practicality And Cost Hurdles
Worldwide, consumers produce an estimated 400 million tons of plastic waste every year. While an estimated 20% gets recycled, the majority of it ends up in landfills or in rivers and other waterways before ultimately landing in the ocean.
While it doesn’t biodegrade, it does break up into tiny pieces called microplastics that have been found in drinking water and food. As a result, researchers estimate the average person consumes about five grams of microplastics — roughly the equivalent of one credit card — every single week. A growing body of research shows that regular consumption of microplastics could become a serious health risk, causing oxidative stress, neurotoxicity and immune system disruption among other issues.
The need for an alternative to plastic that doesn’t pose the same threat to the environment or to human health is clear. But finding that alternative has proven challenging.
Currently, bioplastics make up less than 1% of the global plastics market. Among the challenges holding the market back is the fact that many bioplastics are just as toxic as conventional plastic, making the issue of consuming trace amounts in food and water just as much of a health risk as it currently is.
A lot of bioplastics on the market right now also aren’t as biodegradable or as compostable as they should be. That’s because many require high temperatures — around 122 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit — or sufficient oxygen to actually break down properly.
If that “biodegradable” plastic ends up in the ocean, it won’t reach the temperatures needed to actually degrade. If it gets buried in a landfill instead of a composting facility, it likely won’t be exposed to the right microorganisms or enough oxygen for aerobic decomposition. Instead, it will break down anaerobically (without oxygen), producing methane — a greenhouse gas 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide — as it does so.
Safety and environmental concerns aside, bioplastics also often cost about three or four times as much as conventional plastics. This makes it tough to incentivize manufacturers to make the switch without environmental policies that mandate the use of bioplastics.
Timeplast Is A Dissolvable, Programmable And Affordable Plastic Alternative That Could Revolutionize The “Green” Plastics Market
The patented techno-organic material developed by Timeplast overcomes many of the challenges that emerging bioplastics face. All source materials used to create Timeplast have been independently approved for human consumption and don’t require high temperatures or any other special conditions to dissolve. It’s made from alcohol found in chemically organic waste that immediately starts breaking down as soon as it comes into contact with water and can be completely dissolved in a matter of hours.
But it’s also programmable, allowing manufacturers to adapt the material to be water resistant for anywhere from 60 seconds to 60 years before it starts dissolving. This makes it suitable for a broad range of applications from single-use plastic to longer-term storage containers or parts.
When it comes to cost, Timeplast says its plastic substitute can be priced at just $1 to $2 per pound while still allowing the startup to take in a minimum of $0.50 net profit per pound. This would make it one of the cheapest bioplastics on the market with a price tag closer to conventional plastic.
The crowdfunding campaign — which is set to end on July 21 — will help the innovative startup prepare for a major global launch within the next few years. The capital will go toward real-world trials of its plastic substitute with several clients and the development of standardized procedures for using the new techno-organic material across every potential manufacturing circumstance. It will also help the company complete the requirements needed for certification in Europe, India and Latin America so that it can launch its plastic alternative in those markets.
Featured photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen on Unsplash.
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