Plastic made from seaweed could help fight against pollution
Could the sea itself provide the best solution to the plastic pollution problem that blights it?
Monday 31 December 2018 06:35, UK
Nyoman Sudastra has been farming seaweed on Nusa Penida, an idyllic island next to Bali in Indonesia, for more than 20 years.
Now his crop could be put to a new purpose: creating environmentally friendly bioplastics.
Ankle-deep in the shallow waters between the beach and the sea, tending his patch in low tide, he told Sky News: "We think it's good that the seaweed will be processed into plastic.
"Especially if the plastic turns out to be more environmentally friendly than the plastic we use today."
The seaweed is turned into plastic by Evoware, an Indonesian start-up.
The need is especially pressing in the country: Indonesia is the world's second-biggest plastics polluter.
David Christian started the company after studying abroad.
"When I came back I was really shocked with the amount of waste," he said.
"And then I found out that plastic is actually contaminating everything, including our foods and our drinks."
Evoware uses its biodegradable plastic to make food wrappers and sachets, which are widely used in the country.
The company has been working to come up with an automated process to make the plastic. But it still estimates that its plastic will cost 30% more than normal single-use plastics.
Even then, it will take more than one product to address the problem.
"Evoware cannot do this all by ourselves," Mr Christian said.
"We are not supermen, right? We need to engage to everyone - the government sector, the private sector, end customers. By doing this we can really solve the problem, because it's a huge problem. We need to all come together and then try to solve the problems together."
More than 130,000 people have signed our petition - have you?
The other goal of Evoware is to give local farmers a new source of income. They too are under pressure, though. Nyoman Sudastra's farm is the last one left on Nusa Penida; other beaches were given over to tourism.
"We're afraid that this village will turn out like the others," he said.
"People here hope that seaweed farming can be sustainable. But until now we haven't been able to rely on seaweed for a good income."
But the ambition is grand: that the sea itself may eventually provide the solution to the plastic that blights it.
:: Sky's Ocean Rescue campaign encourages people to reduce their single-use plastics. You can find out more about the campaign and how to get involved at www.skyoceanrescue.com