Calcium carbonate has long been used as a filler in packaging, but its use has been limited to small percentages due to processing and density issues, both of which Okeanos claims to have addressed.
Trade-named Made From Stone, products made from the material can achieve up to two-thirds reduction in plastic content while remaining flexible, lightweight and floatable. More than 300 million tons of virgin plastic are produced globally, and of that, more than 8 million tons enter the oceans, Okeanos says.
“Catastrophic damage is being done to the environment daily,” Okeanos co-founder and CEO Florencio Cuétara says in a press statement. “This is a sustainability emergency, and neither companies nor countries are treating it that way. We cannot wait until 2025 or 2030 to start attacking the problem, by which time the amount of plastic in the oceans is projected to triple.”