In the United Kingdom, R.E.M. front man Michael Stipe is set to release a solo single that will be the world’s first widely available bioplastic vinyl. Called Future if Future, the song will be included on a limited run of 500 vinyl records manufactured by London’s Evolution Music. The single will also be available digitally, […]
In Arizona, tire major Bridgestone has announced it will invest another $42 million—on top of the over $100 million it has already spent—to commercialize natural rubber from the guayule desert shrub by 2030 and achieve 100% renewable tires by 2050. The funds will establish planting and harvesting guayule at scale. Bridgestone will also collaborate and […]
In Vancouver, a new company hopes to make your weekends and retirement a bit greener with biodegradable golf balls made from corn starch and PVA coating. Imaginatively named Biodegradable Golf Balls, the company says in a press statement that its balls dissolve within a couple of weeks—unlike the several hundred thousand golf balls that disappear […]
In Berlin, sustainable feminine hygiene firm Vyld has launched a crowdfunding campaign to scale production of tampons made of algae. According to Femtech Insider, 300 million people menstruate every day, and about 90% of period products are disposable, leading to massive amounts of pollution. Vyld’s tampons, dubbed Kelpon, do not require fertilizers, pesticides, or drinkable […]
In France, zero-waste fashion startup Zèta and coffee giant Nespresso have released a shoe collection using recycled coffee grounds. Called Re:Ground, the shoes came about after the CEO of Nespresso, Guillaume Le Cunff, came across Zèta on LinkedIn in January 2021, Laure Babin, founder of Zèta, tells Global Coffee Report. “He was intrigued by our […]
In Israel, cultivated seafood startup Mermade Seafoods says it has closed a $3.3-million seed funding to commercialize lab-grown scallops. Founded in 2021 by navy veteran Daniel Einhorn and venture capitalists Dr. Rotem Kadir and Dr. Tomer Halevy—company CEO, CTO, and COO, respectively—Mermade’s cellular agricultural process is somewhat unique in that it is also circular. Water, […]
In Maryland and Texas, researchers have found that an electrolyte extracted from crab shells can be used to produce batteries. In a recent study published in the journal Matter, the group from the Universities of Maryland and Houston say the chitosan-Zn electrolyte enables high-rate and durable Zn-metal batteries. The material also biodegrades in just five […]
In France, Technip Energies has acquired DSM’s Biosuccinium® technology for producing biobased succinic acid, which can in turn be used manufacture biodegradable polymer polybutylene succinate. The purchase includes a wide range of patent families and proprietary yeast strains, which have been demonstrated, at scale, in licensees’ production facilities. “This addition to our growing sustainable chemicals […]
In New Jersey, hemp bioplastics producer Makamer Holdings has sold a small-town deli once valued at $100 million for $15,000, plus another $700 in inventory. Paulsboro’s Your Hometown Deli, once the sole asset of Hometown International, went viral in 2021 when hedgie David Einhorn used it as an example of public market chicanery. “The pastrami […]
In the Netherlands, biodesigner Bob Hendrikx has created a bench from algae that helps purify the air, but needs to be regularly fed with phosphate fertilizer. On display currently at Soestdijk Palace as part of the Voorlopers exhibition, the Living Bench is an inflatable bioplastic structure filled with 31 gallons of algae water collected from […]
