GAIA BioMaterials, together with its project partners, will receive UK government funding for a innovative new project for developing biodegradable fishing nets in Biodolomer®.
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A PRESSRELEASE FROM GAIA BIOMATERIALS AB
February 15 – 2022
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Together with its partners, Kompost-IT of South Africa, Alnet, and the Sustainable Seas Trust, GAIA BioMaterials have been given the official nod from the British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s (FCDO) Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution (SMEP) Programme for a project aimed at developing biodegradable fishing nets.
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"“When it comes to fighting marine litter, a fishing net made from Biodolomer® biomaterial is like a Swiss Army Knife, as it provides solutions to more than one problem at the same time."
Konrad Rosén, Project Manager, Gaia BioMaterials AB
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Given the importance of the plastic marine litter problem, a large number of reports on the detrimental effects of plastic pollution in marine environments have surfaced (pun non-intended), the latest being the WWF study “Impacts of Plastic Pollution in the Oceans on Marine Species, Biodiversity and Ecosystems”, released on February 8th.
Although the report makes for grim reading, with an estimated 19 – 23 million metric tons of plastic being emitted into the oceans each year adding to the microplastics problems, all is not gloom and doom on the horizon; rather than cursing the darkness, GAIA BioMaterials are intent on lighting a candle.
Together with its partners, Kompost-IT of South Africa, Alnet, and the Sustainable Seas Trust, GAIA BioMaterials have been given the official nod from the British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s (FCDO) Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution (SMEP) Programme for a project aimed at developing biodegradable fishing nets.
“We’re both pleased and honored by the fact that the SMEP programme recognizes the potential of making fishing nets biodegradable by using Biodolomer® biomaterials,” says GAIA BioMaterials’ Project Manager Konrad Rosén. “When it comes to fighting marine litter, a fishing net made from Biodolomer® biomaterial is like a Swiss Army Knife, as it provides solutions to more than one problem at the same time: First, you have the fact that a net made from Biodolomer® will not float around aimlessly, trapping and killing marine life as it makes its way through the currents. Instead, with the density of Biodolomer® being higher than that for sea water, the fishing net will sink down to the bottom of the ocean. Second, once at the bottom of the ocean, the microbes residing in the sediments there will start to biodegrade the fishing net, leaving nothing behind in terms of microparticles. A lot of work still remains before we can present a commercially viable solution, but we are confident that we will be able to solve whatever challenges that lie ahead.”
Implemented in partnership with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the SMEP programme is “investing in initiatives with the potential to reduce the negative impacts of plastics on the environment and aims to identify fundable, innovative concepts with the potential to make a meaningful reduction in plastic pollution”1,
GAIA BioMaterials is a leading developer and producer of biodegradable biomaterials and sells and markets its products under the trademark Biodolomer®.
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[1] “Procurement to identify, incubate and implement practical plastics mitigation solutions for South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa; Objectives and Parameters for the Open SMEP Procurement (C_004) Brochure updated 07 September 2021”
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Gaia BioMaterials AB, Sweden, is dedicated to CleanTech
with a focus on Advanced Materials.
The LCA analysis was performed by PROFU; mattias.bisaillon@profu.se
Mr Åke Rosén can be reached by phone +46 705 22 0640 |
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BEYOND PLASTICS.
Gaia BioMaterials is a Swedish company that develops and produces biodegradable biomaterials. With our chalk-based material BioDoloMer®, we are currently revolutionizing the plastics industry and contributes to a cleaner and healthier planet with less need of fossil oil. BioDoloMer® is built on a half a billion years old packaging idea from Mother Earth – the egg. Read more.
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