Dive Brief:
- Bay Area Democratic representatives from California are putting the spotlight on the plastic waste filling the world’s oceans.
- The representatives, Mike Honda of San Jose, CA, and Sam Farr of Carmel, CA, gathered entrepreneurs on Capitol Hill in the state who are working to replace plastic materials with plant-based substitutes.
- Both Honda and Farr are sponsoring legislation to limit marine debris.
Dive Insight:
Honda plans to fund federal research to discover plant-based solutions that can be used instead of plastics. The event was to familiarize congressional staffers and highlight processes devised by startups who are working toward reducing plastic waste at the source.
Entrepreneurs included Rob Chase, of NewGen Surgical, who designs medical products made from sugar-cane waste; Kevin L’Heureux, of Fishbone Packaging, a company that fabricates paper aluminum can holders that disintegrate; and Ian Wallace, from Dispenser Amenities, who created a refillable toiletry dispenser currently used on various cruise ships.
A recent study found that up to 12 million tons of plastic waste was tossed into oceans annually. Experts predict the volume of plastics will double by 2025.
