The partnership evolved out of a meeting at a May 2019 bioplastics summit at the University of Maine. “Their innovative work is already showing how a Maine-based circular economy is possible, and this project will identify additional potential uses for the state’s wood fiber byproducts as sustainable packaging or other products,” says David Tulauskas, vice president and chief sustainability officer of Nestlé Waters North America, Poland Spring’s parent company.
Patrick Strauch, executive director of the Maine Forest Products Council, tells Mainebiz diversifying Maine-harvested biomass is “essential to the growth and sustainability” of the state’s forest economy.