Oct 15, 2020
When UrthPact was founded, we set a goal — to create a world where consumption leaves no footprint. We wanted to provide society with a solution to plastic pollution, with all the functionality needed, but without the environmental guilt and negative impacts of petroleum-based plastics. And while we set out with our abstract goal in mind, we wanted to also make our results qualitative and trackable; how many pieces of plastic could we prevent from reaching landfills and oceans by replacing them with a compostable solution? That goal was set at 1 billion. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could do something like a billion pieces, we thought. Little did we know that 1 billion pieces would simply become a blip on our radar.
Eventually, that goal was increased to 2.5 billion pieces. UrthPact was growing, and we were finding new and innovative solutions to a variety of plastic pollution problems (coffee pods, cutlery, etc.). But 2.5 billion wasn’t good enough for CEO Paul Boudreau. “I had probably put more than 2.5 billion pieces of plastic on this planet during my time working in petroleum-based plastics,” he said. “I want to completely make-up for what I created in the past.”
Then came the challenge. Paul’s business coach brought up the idea of multiplying all of his goals by 10. The idea was to drive business and development forward by setting lofty goals, rather than smaller goals that could easily be achieved. This drove the goal up to 25 billion pieces of plastic kept from oceans and landfills by 2028. That’s when our eyes were truly opened to the possibilities of what we could create, what type of legacy we could leave. As pioneers in the compostable bioplastics field, UrthPact was uniquely positioned to leave a mark on society and the planet.
It’s been 2 years since we upped the goal to 25 billion. As of August 2020, we had already reached the 8 billion pieces mark (check out our homepage for the current count). And we can only go up from here. As we expand current product lines and find new solutions, the number will only rise faster than it already is. We truly have found the solution to the single-use plastics problem. Soon enough, even the 25 billion mark will just be another milestone. We will create a world where consumption truly leaves no footprint.
Sep 8, 2020
Boston-based American contract manufacturer UrthPact solves the single-use plastic straw problem with their new line of “never soggy,” single-use, home compostable drinking straws that perform “just like plastic.” Along with being home compostable, the straws are also marine-safe. Shipping now, the straws are available for private label brands and distributors to provide superior customer satisfaction to the quick service, restaurant, and other single-use industries.
Sep 8 2020 – LEOMINSTER, MA: UrthPact–a world leader in compostable bioplastic manufacturing–is now shipping their new line of home compostable drinking straws. The straws are engineered in partnership with Danimer Scientific, another world leader and developer of compostable bioplastic materials. With capacity in the billions for their first year, UrthPact will reduce the environmental impact of the single-use plastics industry, and put a dent in the 142 billion plastic straws used yearly in the United States alone.
The innovative straws are made with Danimer’s Scientific’s signature biopolymer NodaxTM PHA, which has been certified home compostable by TUV Austria’s OK compost HOME protocol. The material is a revolutionary step in the fight against plastic pollution from single-use products, as it is certified to compost in any environment on Earth in under a year, including landfill and marine conditions. UrthPact is the only contract manufacturer worldwide currently working to partner with nationwide and international brands, distributors, and other private-label organizations. The goal is to help expand their partners’ single-use product offerings and increase sustainability by carrying the home compostable straws under their own brands.
By addressing customer satisfaction and environmental benefits, UrthPact’s straws top all current single-use alternatives. They provide a superior drinking experience to paper straws, and are more environmentally friendly than other bioplastics like PLA (polylactic acids). They perform exactly as you’d expect a single-use plastic straw to–but without any of the environmental consequences.
As a USA-based manufacturer, UrthPact takes pride in providing products that are 100% Made in the USA. “Knowing exactly where and how your products are being made matters now more than ever,” says UrthPact CEO, Paul Boudreau. “Consumers are looking for an American-made product, and we’re here to help you provide that to your customers.” UrthPact’s facilities are also Safe Quality Food (SQF) certified, placing food safety and customer satisfaction at the top of their priority list, guaranteeing a contaminant-free and high-quality product.
“Home compostable straws are only the beginning,” Boudreau says. “PHA is a revolutionary new material in the world of bioplastics and has the ability to truly change the landscape of the single-use industry over the next 10 years. Single-usage was never the problem. The problem was we chose to use a material that was designed to last forever to make products only meant to be used for 5 minutes. With Mother Nature’s materials and our engineering expertise, we’ve truly solved the single-use plastic problem.”
Since its foundation in 2013, UrthPact’s goal has been to create a world Where Consumption Leaves No Footprint™. Taking their knowledge of the plastics industry, along with the mindset to save the planet, Boudreau and his team of engineers have created a wide range of compostable product lines, including coffee packaging, cutlery, and now straws. Straws will be the first home compostable product added to the portfolio, to be followed shortly by home compostable cutlery. They’re continuing to work towards preventing 25 billion plastic parts from reaching oceans and landfills. That’s enough parts to circle the globe 122 times.
UrthPact welcomes private-label brands and distributors to become partners. To learn more, click here. Restaurants, schools, and large institutions should contact their distributors to learn how they can order UrthPact’s new home compostable straws.
Apr 24, 2020
We just reached the one month mark of this quarantine to help slow the spread of the pandemic that has threatened millions of people worldwide. Humans as a species have withdrawn into our homes, and planet Earth has taken advantage of our absence. Waterways are cleaner, the ozone is healing, and a variety of animals have returned to lands they used to inhabit. And while this is incredible, we have to take a realistic view of the future. We can’t stay inside forever, and the planet also can’t take our abuse forever. We need to find a way of life that’s safe for us and safe for the Earth. One of the biggest factors in our suffering planet is plastic pollution. Single-use products litter nearly every natural surface on Earth. So how do we balance single-use convenience with something healthy for the planet? Easy: compost.
Compostable bioplastics are an emerging industry that is the true solution to the plastic noose that is strangling our planet. And not only are they healthy for the planet, they’re healthy for people too. The production process for traditional plastics releases a wide range of unhealthy chemicals into the atmosphere. However, PLA (polylactic acid) and PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) — the two most common bioplastics — are both naturally occurring. PLA is plant-based, while PHA occurs naturally in a variety of microorganisms. Therefore, making single-use products from these bioplastics has no negative effect on the environment. And when they reach their disposal, they compost and feed the Earth rather than polluting it and poisoning it.
At UrthPact, our goal is to create a world where consumption leaves no footprint. By engineering private-label single-use products from compostable materials, we are able to provide the convenience that customers expect with none of the environmental guilt or harm to the planet. However, good for the planet wasn’t enough for us. We also wanted to be sure that our products were safe for your customers. So, we made sure all of our manufacturing facilities were Safe Quality Food (SQF) certified, and our American-Made products are always of the highest-quality.
The planet is depending on us. But your customers are depending on you too. There has to be a solution that satisfies both sides. We’re here to tell you that there is. And we’ve found it. Switching to compostable products, like those made at UrthPact, are the key to saving our planet from plastic. As we celebrate Earth Day this week, we want to encourage you to do something to help the Earth. Whether it’s watering the plants on your front porch, swapping to compostable coffee pods from Cameron’s Coffee or San Francisco Bay Coffee, or vowing to start composting in your home, each and every one of us has the ability to change the world. So let’s make Earth Day Earth Week. Or maybe Earth Month? Or better yet, Earth Quarantine. With all of this time on our hands, we have a unique opportunity to change the world. Let’s take advantage of it.
Jan 29, 2020
Leominster, MA — The city of Leominster is known as the “Pioneer Plastics City.” But a shift is happening, and it starts with UrthPact.
“Plastic was invented to be used for Tupperware bowls that would be passed on for generations,” said UrthPact CEO Paul Boudreau. “The mistake we made was we used the same material for products we use for 10 minutes.”
Bio-plastics, or plant based plastics, are the future, he said. And at this local company, everything is compostable.
“The first product we took on was the single use coffee pod,” Boudreau said.
Now, the company produces water bottles, caps and even bio-plastic cutlery, as well as their newest product– the bio-plastic straw.
“If I put this in my backyard in a leaf pile or clippings, two weeks its gone,” Boudreau said of the company’s products.
It’s a straw that’s both good for the planet and good for the consumer, he said. Unlike paper straws, their product doesn’t fall apart, can be tossed after one use and is actually cheaper.
On the warehouse floor, they are pumping out product and can barely keep up with demand.
But they have a singular focus: consumption without leaving a footprint. Pioneering a new era of plastics inside the Pioneer Plastics City, they are changing the game by simply changing the material.
“The plastics pollution problem is solved with bio plastics,” Boudreau said.
There is not much competition in the bio-plastic field yet for UrthPact. Creating bio-plastics is not easy. It is time-consuming and costly. UrthPact hopes the lack of competition has given them a leg up in the field.
The products are only sold to distributors and companies at this point. Consumers will soon start to see their straws at ocean-front resorts and their cutlery at Whole Foods cafes.
Read the original article here.
Oct 29, 2019
UrthPact expands line of compostable single-use straws with marine degradable options using Danimer Scientific’s Nodax™ PHA material.
Bainbridge, GA — Danimer Scientific, a leading developer and manufacturer of biodegradable plastic materials, and UrthPact, a contract manufacturer of single-use compostable products for leading brands, today announced a partnership to manufacture drinking straws that are fully biodegradable in environments ranging from waste treatment facilities to home compost piles, waterways and our oceans. The products produced through this partnership will help reduce the environmental impact of the estimated 8 million tons of plastic waste that leak into oceans every year.
Single-use straws certified for industrial composting are available now for purchase from UrthPact, with straws certified for home composting and marine degradation to begin shipping in the first quarter of 2020. UrthPact is currently evaluating interested distributors and brand owners to partner with for the sale of these biodegradable straws. The straws are manufactured using Danimer Scientific’s signature biopolymer, Nodax™ polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). The plant-based material was verified as an effective biodegradable alternative to traditional petrochemical plastics in a 2018 study led by University of Georgia (UGA) researchers and members of the UGA New Materials Institute.
“Reducing the environmental impacts of single-use plastics is a critical issue that will get worse the longer it goes unaddressed, so it has been encouraging to see industry leaders swiftly collaborate on solutions,” said Stephen Croskrey, CEO of Danimer Scientific. “Since developing a prototype for the first fully biodegradable plastic straw last year, our team has worked diligently with UrthPact to make it commercially available. We look forward to continuing our longstanding partnership with UrthPact in bringing more eco-friendly plastic packaging to manufacturers in the years to come.”
UrthPact, a United States manufacturer, produces straws in its Safe Quality Foods (SQF) certified plants alongside a wide range of compostable single-use plastic products, including coffee pods, valves, cutlery, bottles, caps and more.
“Cities and businesses are exploring outright bans of single-use plastic straws. This may not be a viable option for every business segment within the global market,” said Paul Boudreau, CEO of UrthPact. “One ideal solution is a single-use straw that offers the durability and reliability of traditional plastic without the environmental impact that it can leave upon disposal. With the support of Danimer Scientific, we’re making that ideal a reality.”
Danimer Scientific’s Nodax™ PHA possesses seven TUV AUSTRIA certifications and statements of industrial and home compostability, is biodegradable in anaerobic soil, freshwater and marine environments and is 100% bio-based. All of Danimer Scientific’s biopolymers, including its Nodax™ PHA, are FDA approved for food contact.
Read the original press release here.
