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ZAMBROW, Poland (AFP) – Polish inventor and entrepreneur Jerzy Wysocki grabs a brown plate – still hot – when he comes out of a machine and starts eating the crisp and fibrous dishes.
"A pork chop will always be more delicious on this wheat bran than on plastic," says Wysocki with a big smile at the Biotrem plant in Zambrow, in north-eastern Poland.
Taking a bite, the plate does not have much taste. This evokes dry cereal flakes or maybe what you imagine to be cardboard.
But Mr Wysocki says the point is that the dishes are biodegradable.
The badagenarian invented the plate about fifteen years ago and today, Biotrem manufactures about 15 million per year.
This figure could soon skyrocket thanks to the decision of the European Union to ban plates and plastic cutlery from 2021.
As a miller's son and grandson, Mr. Wysocki came up with the idea of tableware as he sought to use the leftover flour production, which took up a lot of space.
But he says he's also motivated by the desire to help a good cause, "because the amount of waste that pollutes the oceans is huge and scary."
"To make the plates, we only use wheat bran, which we compress at a precise pressure point and temperature, with the help of a specially designed machine," he says. -he.
ECO-CONSCIOUS CLIENTS
Malgorzata, CEO of Biotrem, then acknowledges, of course, that at 15 cents (or $ 0.23 Singapore), or 20% more than exports, the plates of wheat bran cost more than their counterparts in plastic.
But "the current price of plastic does not take into account the environmental cost of recycling and marine pollution," she adds.
At first, the company targeted environmentally conscious customers, as well as restaurants and hotels eager to offer something original.
"Now, with the measures taken by the EU, even customers with little knowledge of the environment are forced to become interested in biodegradable products," said Ms. Then.
Biotrem distributes plates in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. The client Down Under had asked them to check if the earthworms wanted it – they wanted it.
"These are not huge amounts, but they are enough for us to be optimistic about the future," Wysocki said.
Optimistic prospects are supported by the prospect of increased production leading to falling prices. In addition, it should be possible to use the same technology to make plates of corn, barley, oats, cbadava and even seaweed.
"With cbadava, the first tests have been very positive and we already have a small group of interested customers," added Wysocki.
Biotrem hopes to expand its offer to edible boxes for take-out meals and catering. Research is already at a fairly advanced stage: all that remains is to make the boxes more resistant to liquids and heat.
BIODEGRADABLE KNIFE
You do not have to eat the plate or its packaging to be a friend of the environment. In favorable weather conditions, with a little moisture, wheat bran products decompose after a month or even after two weeks in case of rain.
Biotrem's crew is not the only one in Poland to win the battle against plastics.
Researchers from the Chemistry Department of the Gdansk University of Technology have developed a way to make biodegradable cutlery from potato starch.
Forks, spoons and knives are even safe for marine animals.
"To date, we are the only ones to have tested the biodegradability of our products on living aquatic organisms and it seems that these cutlery are safe for the environment," Professor Helena told AFP. Janik.
According to Robert Bajko, who sells innovations from the university to entrepreneurs, cutlery does not require any complex technology or a huge investment.
Everyone in the plastic industry can embark on "overnight," he enthuses.
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