This Mexican Company Turns Avocado Pits Into Renewable And Biodegradable Plastic

By Mayukh Saha / Truth Theory

Anyone watching the news in recent times would be aware of the seas of plastic the humankind has created and discarded. They float around in our oceans and end up choking the life out of the many marine creatures that live there. While there are organizations across coastal countries working to clean up the waters, what we really need is a solution to our dependence on plastics. One Mexican company decided to strike at the root of the problem and they came up with a brilliant, unconventional substitute – Avocados!

The health benefits of avocados are known far and wide and as a bonus, they’re also delicious. On Super Bowl Sunday 2018, millions of pounds of guacamole were made and served across America. Over the last month, shops in America had more than two hundred million pounds of avocado delivered to them.

All over the world, people working to maintain a healthy diet have taken to the avocado. However, there’s one part of the fruit that they don’t use i.e. the pit. So the question here is what do we do with them?

This is where Biofase comes in. Located in the Mexican state of Michoacan which is also an avocado cultivation area, this company is now working on using the discarded seeds to make a substitute for plastic. It is called bioplastic and can degrade naturally. It can be used to make everything from cutlery to bags to straws.

They pick up mounds of discarded pits every day and transform them into useful objects like plates and spoons. The raw material comes from the factories processing avocado and it is used to manufacture what may very well be the first products of their kind. All the material used is renewable and sustainable. Usually, plastics are made up of polymers which rely on the use of fossil fuels. These are neither renewable nor sustainable and they cause a great deal of pollution from the very first step.

This project first began over seven years ago and the company hopes that they can soon keep up with the pressing needs of the government and the public at large. The weight of the plastic waste problem is soon becoming unbearable and it may be too late to find a solution. Single use plastics need to go and all businesses must turn to sustainable and renewable sources of energy and materials if we hope to save the planet.

Over 5000 people have downloaded our free ebook “Growth Hacking Tips And Rituals For Optimal Living” CLICK HERE to get your free copy now

Biofase produces two different kinds of goods made of ‘Avoplast’. The first contains around seventy percent of organic matter whereas the second is a unique mixture of the bioplastic from avocado seeds along with other substances which are equally biodegradable.

Authorities in this field are hopeful that Avoplast will make it easier to dispose of plastic waste. Something as simple as a single-use straw can take a few hundred years to become degradable. This is why many cities worldwide are considering completely banning their usage. In an article published by Now Science, it was revealed that Biofase products only take a couple hundred days to decompose after they are discarded.

In Mexico, Biofase is becoming popular and many popular fast food franchises like P.F. Chang’s, Chili’s, and Fiesta Americana have started using the cutlery they produce. But the company is still facing one big problem – the cost.

Many are still not willing to pay extra to use eco-friendly products. But the world is currently in a dangerous position and both companies and the public need to take these extra measures. It is important that we start making these small changes before the day comes when we’ll have to change our lives drastically.

IMAGE CREDIT: Biofase