Naturally clever
What if the plastic clip holding a grapevine in place could simply disappear when its job was done? No collection, no landfill, and, crucially, no microplastics left behind.
That’s the thinking behind Christchurch biotechnology company PolyNatural, where a team of engineers and scientists are working with nature to create high-performance alternatives to traditional petrochemical products.
Its technology uses a family of naturally occurring polymers made through fermentation. At the end of a product’s useful life, microorganisms can consume the material as an energy and carbon source – effectively returning it to nature.
“The technology behind this is quite different,” spokesperson Gareth Innes says. “What we’re actually mimicking is something that occurs in nature naturally.”
The applications are wonderfully practical. PolyNatural’s range includes clips for viticulture, plant protectors for horticulture and forestry, and wool weed mats made using Canterbury wool.
The clever bit is making each product last exactly as long as it needs to.
A vine clip might need to break down relatively quickly, while a plant protector must withstand the elements for two or three years. Some products even outperform their traditional petrochemical equivalents.
Getting there takes plenty of tinkering. One seemingly simple vine clip went through around 20 iterations, with growers providing real-world feedback on everything from strength to how easily workers could attach it.
“We will go to the absolute degree to ensure that the products are fit for purpose and that the end user gets a good user experience,” Gareth says.
There’s another Canterbury connection hiding inside many of the products: coffee. Silver skin, a waste by-product of coffee roasting, is incorporated into the material, giving microorganisms something else to consume when biodegradation begins.
It’s a neat example of one waste stream becoming part of another solution.
For Gareth, Christchurch has also provided the ideal ecosystem for developing world-changing solutions, thanks to its innovative mindset.