Edible Plastic: The Wonder from Down Under

Almost 16 hours of travel from Japan – through Singapore – to Melbourne, Australia made for a tough, long haul indeed.



Thankfully, being met at the airport by the friendly faces of Carole and Andy quickly lifted our spirits. They are family of an ally in Canada (thanks, Indra!) and were quick to assume the role of tour guides on our way to the Melbourne suburb of Beaumaris.



We were there to stay with Jan, a childhood friend of said ally (thanks again, Indra!) but because we were early, her neighbor Jon and his Corgie, Sally, were there to let us in.



Truth be told, we felt like zombies after the trip and decided to stretch our legs with Jan’s dog, Hannah – a beautiful German Shepard who loved the cool waters of the nearby beach.



Unfortunately, we had to bid farewell to Jan after only 2 days as plans in Melbourne changed. We would travel to the far northwest Australian outback…but you’ll have to wait for that.

Cryptic Moth would like to extend a big hug and thanks to all those who made us feel at home in Melbourne, especially Jan. We are sorry we couldn’t stay longer. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It was a joy to meet you.



In the end, our only shoot in Melbourne was with Plantic – a company that makes bioplastic.



But this isn’t any run-of-the-mill bioplastic. This plastic is 100% plant based and – unlike most bioplastics – can degrade in water!



Plantic’s PR rep, Steven,



picked us up at our hotel and drove us to their headquarters, situated smack in the middle of smoke and fire belching petrochemical plants.



In order to see the operations, we donned protective wear to prevent contamination, which included Gad’s beard.



Steven introduced us to Kishan, C.T.O with over 15 years of experience with plant-based polymers.



With a keen personal interest in filmmaking, Kishan let us roam freely in the plant, explaining to others why it was taking so long and why we’d be shooting close-ups of pipes and LED read-outs.



The production was impressive but the demos were mind-blowing. These plastics are mostly starch-based from corn but the colour is plant-based and no toxic additives are added. That means this plastic is edible and degrades in water in about 20 seconds (although it does take longer for the starch to completely disappear). FYI – it tastes like stale bread.



Right now, Plantic is applying their amazing technology to chocolate and cookie trays as well as some packaging but is limited due to the plastic’s vulnerability to humidity and, of course, moisture.





Brendan, the company’s bigwig insured us that they are hard at work at slowing the degradation time to allow Plantic plastic to encase everything from fruit to bottled water.



Cryptic Moth commends these scientists and ex-petroleum businessmen on proving the viability of such a resource. If we didn’t see it for ourselves, we never would have believed it. Cheers, mates!


Out.

G+I