A Mexican Company turns Avocado Pits into Sustainable Biodegradable Plastic

Biofase, a Mexican company founded by Scott Munguía, has found a way to create environmentally-friendly disposable utensils in response to the alarming plastic pollution problem. The company makes biodegradable, sustainable and affordable forks, spoons, knives, and even straws from leftover avocado pits.

Every year in the United States alone, an estimated 40 billion individual plastic utensils are used or wasted. Most recycling facilities will not accept them because the process of recycling them is cost-prohibitive. Therefore, the plastic ends up in landfills where it can take up to 1,000 years to decompose or in the ocean, where it becomes a deadly problem for thousands of species. Most alternative straws need special facilities to be compostable.

Munguía discovered in 2014 that avocado seeds contain a biopolymer similar to the one in corn used to create bioplastic, and he founded Biofase in response. The company’s products contain 60% avocado biopolymer and 40% synthetic organic compounds.

Biofase’s patented process uses technology to transform the avocado pits into a bioplastic resin that can withstand heat. The result comes in the form of a sheet that can be molded and cut, and needs no special recycling. Biofase’s straws and cutlery degrade naturally in just 240 days and can be composted at home.

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Some bioplastics still contain high levels of traditional plastic, while the production of others requires extensive land use and contributes more to ozone depletion than even plastic does. The creation of bioplastics can also result in greater amounts of pollutants because of the fertilizers used to grow crops and the chemical processes needed to make them into a usable form.

Since Mexico grows so many avocados, the pits are readily available in Biofase’s home territory, lowering their carbon footprint. Mexico produces 300,000 pounds of avocados every year, or roughly 50 percent of the world’s supply. “Avocado seeds pile up in Mexico like nowhere else in the world, and most end up being burned at landfill sites,” NowScience explains. Thanks to Biofase, 15 tonnes of avocado seeds is used a day to produce bioplastic for the global market. The bioplastics market is set to be worth $5.8 billion by 2021, according to Bioplastics News.

BIOFASE employs a team of 14 employees who produce 130 tons of biodegradable plastic products each month at their Morelia plant. In November, the company plans to open a new plant with a capacity of 700 tons a month. Prior to BIOFASE, all biopolymer products had to be imported from other countries into Mexico, and these imported products were “at least twice as expensive” as BIOFASE’s.

At present, BIOFASE exports 80% of its products to the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Peru, helping to tackle plastic waste around the globe. The company’s success shows that innovative solutions to the plastic pollution problem are possible, and that sustainability can be profitable.

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