How This One Company is Lowering the Impact of Single-Use Plastics
Published: December 13, 2022 Updated: October 1, 2024
There are a few types of plastics in this world but the ones that get the most buzz are Macro and Microplastics. Macroplastics, relatively large particles of plastic found especially in the marine environment, can threaten wildlife through entanglement or consumption. But the dangers of this debris can be worse. In fact, single-use plastic breaks down into microplastics which are made of particles smaller than five millimeters and are either found contaminating the ocean floor or eaten by fish or plankton.
Apart from the seafood we eat, microplastics can also be found in items we use every day. Mi Terro, however, is a US-based firm that’s created home compostable biomaterials made from plant-based agricultural waste as an alternative to single-use plastic and paper materials…keeping more microplastic out of the oceans.
Since 2018, Mi Terro has worked to make sustainable and durable bio-based materials for packaging, textile, contact lenses, etc. where the company uses biomaterials that are of course biodegradable after being used. The biomaterials are home compostable, water degradable or water-resistant.
Products have zero microplastics and can be water-soluble meaning they can break down into water under room temperature. The material decomposes quickly and naturally, so it can provide the kind of single-use benefits that we are used to, without the single-use plastic and pollution.
Companies like Mi Terro make the difference in lowering plastic waste numbers and the impact of single-use plastics. They create and provide real solutions to marine pollution. As of now, microplastics contaminate the whole planet. They are in the air, the food we eat, the most random of items we use and digest, and sometimes even in our lungs. As innovation is truly one of the most effective ways to ensure the sustainability of our futures, solution-based companies, like Mi Terro help us all make smart decisions about our world and our health.