Today, being able to live well within the limits of nature is the great challenge of our century, a challenge which requires immediate action and which can only be faced with individual commitment and widespread, well-informed policies.

That’s where this solution by Novamont, an Italian company, captured my attention. Novamont is known around the world as a pioneer of the bioeconomy, particularly in the bioplastics sector.

To brag a bit, they say that their industrial company’s roots lie in the Montedison School of Materials Science where, over thirty years ago, some researchers started to develop an ambitious project to integrate chemistry, the environment and agriculture..which they like to call : the "Living chemistry for quality of life".

They have 3 revolutionary products :

Mater Bi (which is a family of completely biodegradable and compostable bioplastics ,

Matrol Bi (is a line of biolubricants and greases that are derived from renewable sources & are rapidly biodegradable) ;

Celus Bi (line of innovative and bio-based ingredients for the cosmetics sector)

Now, many of you may have come across extensive debates online around green washing and bio-plastics and one of the major reasons for that level of criticism is due to its derivation from agricultural produce.

Why, bcoz just under 33% of earth’s surface is land. 71% of that land is habitable. We already use 50% of that 71% for agriculture. And over 75% of that is used for livestock production. Yet that land only produces 33% of our global protein supply.

So imagine if bio-plastics become popular in use, more land for agriculture would be required.

That’s where Novamont is making a difference, because they are making use of marginal land across Europe, these are lands which have little or no agricultural or even industrial value.

In addition to this, their products also regenerate the soil when it comes in contact with it during its designated lifecycle.

Using plastic is an unconscious addiction, and we need organizations like Novamont to have a healthy mix of science & business to build a strong foothold in this circular economy.

According to the latest WWF report, India faces a grave danger to its soil biodiversity. Soil needs to be considered as an ecological system and a finite resource. Conservation of soil biodiversity and soil organic carbon through sustainable farming practices should be deemed essential to improve upon agricultural land health and productivity. And with this example it seems that  Biomass wastes have played a major role in the implementation of biorefinery in circular bioeconomy.

Tune into the episode to learn more;

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Keyword : What is a circular economy?