Compostable bioplastics – the only sustainable solution for films

Just 9% of plastic is recycled globally. In the UK it’s 26%, or 29% for single-use plastic packaging.  And it’s increasing only slowly - the projected rate for 2030 in the UK is 37%.

Today’s numbers are skewed by drinks bottles, which have a 56% recycling rate. Packaging types like plastic films see recycling rates as low as 1%.

Yet plastic film is a problem of huge scale. 1.1 million tonnes are consumed in the UK each year and half of that is consumer packaging.

So that’s why Kelpi makes bioplastic films from seaweed. Our films are fully compostable. So for those with a home compost bin, they will decompose fully in much less than the six month standard, leaving only water, CO2 and biomass. For others, they can be put into the food waste bin alongside leftovers, bones and peelings for kerbside collection, where they can play an active role in industrial composting or anaerobic digestion.   

For these single-use films, composting is the only effective end-of-life solution. Right now these films are almost all ending up in landfill or being incinerated.

Of course not all bioplastics are compostable.  But all of Kelpi’s are - we focus exclusively on developing films that have only natural ingredients with no fossil-fuel content.

For months now Kelpi has been testing our unique bioplastic films in university labs to see how they function in a variety of composting environments. The test data underline the positive impact our films have on industrial composting (that’s what happens to food waste that’s been collected by your local authority). Far from slowing the composting process, Kelpi’s bioplastic films actually enhance it.

So here at Kelpi we’re all for recycling plastics. But we also recognise that there is a limit to how much certain plastics like thin films will be recycled. And that’s why we’re firmly committed to compostable bioplastic films. 

Photo by Patricia Valério on Unsplash