Backyard compostable straw wins Plastics Industry Association bioplastic award
Canadian Plastics
Materials Packaging Plastics Processes Recycling Sustainability editor pickSaid to be the first of its kind, the Phade straws were co-developed by Danimer Scientific and Wincup.
The Phade straw. Photo Credit: WinCup
A backyard compostable and marine biodegradable plastic straw co-developed by Danimer Scientific and Wincup has won the 2020 Innovation in Bioplastics Award from the Plastics Industry Association.
Made of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a material verified as a reliable biodegradable alternative to traditional plastic, WinCup created the straws – which are marketed under the brand name Phade – using Danimer Scientific’s Nodax PHA, which is designed to completely degrade in any environment without leaving behind microplastics.
“In 2018, Danimer along with PepsiCo received recognition for their industrially compostable chip bag, which sought to provide a sustainable end-of-life solution for a difficult-to-recycle packaging format,” said Patrick Krieger, the director of sustainability and materials at the Washington, D.C.-based Plastics Industry Association. “Since then, they have advanced so much with their production and compounding with PHA, resulting in a plastic straw that is marine-biodegradable. This product also speaks to a bigger principle in the plastics industry: innovative problem-solving to create products that consumers want.”
Headquartered in Bainbridge, Ga., Danimer Scientific is a biopolymer manufacturer that holds 125 patents in nearly 20 countries for a range of manufacturing processes and biopolymer formulations.
Based in Stone Mountain, Ga., WinCup is a manufacturer of disposable polystyrene cups, bowls, containers, straws, and lids.
