In the United Kingdom, a startup spun out of the University of Bath has developed biodegradable microbeads using cellulose.
Dubbed Naturbeads, the company aims to provide a sustainable alternative to the 30,000 tons of plastic microbeads—banned in shower gels and toothpaste but still used in products such as sunscreen and cosmetics—that end up oceans annually. These microbeads are often eaten by fish and end up in the human food chain.
The cellulose microbeads were developed by University of Bath professors Janet Scott and Davide Mattia in 2017. They went on to found Naturbeads in 2018. The company, which has been granted funding from the UK Research and Innovation and Sky Ocean Ventures, is building a pilot production unit.
“By investing in Naturbeads, we are able to support a highly innovative technology and a passionate entrepreneurial team that is aiming to provide a biodegradable alternative that can perform like plastics and ensure the many products do not leave harmful residues in our environments for longer than nature intended,” Jamie Rowles, Head of Investment at Sky Ocean Ventures, tells Phys.org.