We live in a plastic world. Think about how many plastic objects you use in a day. Virtually everything is made from plastic; from your toothbrush to your shopping bags. Nearly everything that is sold today, is packaged in plastic. Plastic is everywhere, and 98% of all this plastic is made using oil or gas. The good news is that there are full-fledged alternatives with natural and biodegradable materials, like the revolutionary DOPA paper pot plants developed and produced by Plantics.
Paper Pot Plants Impossible?
It seems impossible: one paper plant pot to grow, sell, and enjoy plants. Unless protected by a plastic foil, the paper would crumble when getting wet. And it is inevitable that pot plants need water.
But Dutch tech company Plantics discovered that it is not impossible at all to use paper pot plants if you impregnated the pot with the right bio-degradable natural bio-resins. This is how the DOPA pot was developed, a pot that does not only protect the plant and environment but also looks very natural and attractive in cash & carries and flower shops! An ideal fit with a natural product like a plant.
Why Now?
Plantics has developed a biodegradable resin that makes paper pot plant pots stronger than the 'normal' paper pot and less sensitive to molds and algae. Therefore, these pots can already be used at the grower, then remain in the pot all the way to the consumer. Traders and florists will find these pots to be an alternative to plastic pots.
What took the world so long for an alternative for plastic plant pots - and many more plastic (non-)disposables? Generally speaking, it's money. Plastic has very good properties, and it's cheap. Bio-materials replacing conventional plastics will be more expensive than conventional plastics. This gap will however be reduced in time due to scale and process efficiencies.
Martin Lekkerkerk, sales and business partner of Plantics explains:
"I have been working in horticulture throughout my career. It always surprised me how much plastic is used for a natural product. Plantics, a team of young and passionate people, wants to change that, and I am happy that I can now help in this wonderful sustainable development."
One Answer to Plastic Waste
Plantics is a Dutch company developing new, completely circular composites, foams, and coatings. In close collaboration with different partners, these materials are used to develop high-quality, circular, and CO2 negative products for a variety of applications.
Wridzer Bakker, in his former job chemical engineer at AkzoNobel, is currently the director of Plantics:
"DOPA is one of our answers to the plastic waste problems. I do what I do in the first place for my daughters, the next generation. I want to leave the world a better place for them."
Image left: Martin Lekkerkerk, Image right: Wridzer Bakker
Sustainability Awards in 2021 and 2022
There are so many sustainable and innovative initiatives going on. It's hard to stand out. In 2021 Plantics was the winner of the Renewable Material of the Year Award at the Renewable Materials Conference organized by the German nova-Institute.
This year, it made Martin Lekkerkerk and Wridzer Bakker proud to see their DOPA plant pots nominated for the prestigious HortiContact Innovation Award 2022.
