WinCup’s phade PHA straws are gamechangers – USA
Posted on June 12, 2024 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsThe phade straws manufactured by food service ware manufacturer WinCup look, feel and perform like regular plastic straws. There, however, the resemblance ends. Made from the biopolymer PHA, these straws completely biodegrade in any environment where bacteria is present. They also mark the turning point in WinCup’s transition to a more sustainable product portfolio.
Source: WinCup’s phade PHA straws are gamechangers | Sustainable Plastics
Laporte and Winters had never seen a substrate that could do what PHA claimed to do, and at first, were highly sceptical.
“Brad and I decided we would ‘test this thing to the nth degree’ – which we did. When the results came in from test lab OWS we were astounded. The speed with which the products broke down was amazing, and test after test came back with the final reports stating the products had completely biodegraded,” said Winters.
Their disbelief, however, was hard to shake. They therefore had additional marine disintegration testing carried out to ensure no microplastics remained in the water following the degradation of the PHA, and even set up their own fish tank with saltwater and fish in it.
“We wanted to see with our own eyes whether this stuff would actually vanish in a marine environment. When it did, after 58 days in the fish tank, we were finally able to accept the data and what we were seeing,” he explained.
The company started exploring the PHA market and ultimately selected Danimer Scientific, a Georgia-headquarted company that produces PHA through the microbial fermentation of canola oil, as its PHA supplier.
Eighteen months later, in 2020, the phade straw, made from 100% PHA, was launched.
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