Hya Bioplastics

Long description

Hya Bioplastics creates home compostable food packaging. We have developed a starch-biofiber composite material that we produce our food packaging products out of. We are looking to create biodegradable food packaging including fast food take away containers from sisal and starch using our proprietary technology and process. For our plant-fibers, we have been able to incorporate either sisal, sugarcane bagasse, corn stover and banana stems as a key raw material. Bioplastics that are home compostable have been fronted as a solution to the plastic pollution problem however their manufacturing is expensive since the feedstock is decentralised and its sourcing is a challenge. The equipment and process is equally costly to set up. Cassava is an undervalued, drought-resistant and widely grown crop in Africa. And it sells at half the price of alternative starches like cornstarch. It suffers from Post-harvest physiological deterioration that causes cyanide levels to shoot up, making it toxic for human consumption hence losses for farmers. This agricultural waste is sourced from smallholder farmers. These farmers formerly burnt it after the harvesting season contributing to the emissions in the environment. We have come up with a way to make these resources agricultural waste and cassava more valuable. We have already created vegetable and fruit trays, coasters, cans and we have as well laser-cut patterns onto our material for use in interior design applications. 

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