Scaling up the production of bio-based and biodegradable packaging for the cosmetics industry

2017年全球塑料年产量达到4.38亿吨（Geyer\_2020）。据估计，每年至少有800万吨塑料垃圾进入我们的海洋，它们在数百年的时间里缓慢降解，产生有害的微塑料（Jambeck\_et\_al\_2015）。据估计，海洋塑料对全球海洋生态系统服务造成的破坏相当于每年至少给社会造成0.4-1.9万亿英镑的损失（Beaumont\_et\_al\_2019），这还没有考虑到对人类健康的潜在负面影响，而人们对这些负面影响的了解仍然很少。最近的一项研究发现，英国和美国公民人均产生的塑料垃圾最多，分别为99公斤和105公斤/人/年（Law\_et\_al\_2020）。这相当于每个英国人每年使用1万个塑料瓶，或每周使用近200个塑料瓶。最近的爆炸性增长全球塑料危机意识,引发的出版新塑料的经济在2016年由埃伦·麦克阿瑟基金会——发现,在“一切如常”的情况下会有更多的垃圾塑料按重量比鱼在海里到2050年——以及蓝色星球的释放二世在2017年导致了全球寻找生物和生物可降解材料取代化石能源的使用不可降解的塑料。作为回应，Shellworks于2019年7月由三位帝国理工学院/皇家艺术学院的毕业生成立。我们的目标是用废弃的农业生物质（一种可再生和丰富的原料）生产的生物基、可生物降解和可堆肥包装材料颠覆全球塑料市场。我们的创新材料是真正的可生物降解和家庭堆肥，如果它到达海洋，在生命结束时分解成海洋安全的成分。我们已经成功地在化妆品行业的主要目标客户中完成了小规模的产品试验，这些试验已经验证了性能，并准备扩大我们的技术。在这里，在Innovate UK的支持下，与主要目标客户合作，我们将扩大我们的生产过程，从实验室到中试规模。我们的专利材料配方是专为使用性能设计的，即使在自然环境中也可生物降解，并且可以使用现有的生产设施进行大规模生产。该项目支持英国成为可持续包装领域世界领导者的雄心，解决全球塑料废物和气候危机，与工业战略挑战基金智能可持续塑料包装密切配合，并实现英国塑料公约的目标。

Annual global plastic production reached 438 million metric tonnes in 2017 (Geyer\_2020). Each year, it is estimated that at least 8 million metric tonnes of plastic waste reaches our oceans, where it degrades slowly over hundreds of years to produce harmful microplastics (Jambeck\_et\_al\_2015). The global damage to marine ecosystem services from marine plastic is estimated to be equivalent to a loss to society of at least £0.4-1.9 trillion/year (Beaumont\_et\_al\_2019), without taking into account potential negative impacts on human health, which are still poorly understood.A recent study found that UK and US citizens produce the most plastic waste per person, at 99 and 105 kg/person/year, respectively (Law\_et\_al\_2020). This is equivalent in weight to each UK citizen using 10,000 plastic bottles per person per year, or nearly 200 plastic bottles per week.The recent explosive rise in awareness of the global plastic crisis, triggered by the publication of The New Plastics Economy by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2016 - which found that under a business-as-usual scenario there would be more waste plastic by weight than fish in the sea by 2050 - as well as the release of Blue Planet II in 2017 - has led to a global search for bio-based and biodegradable materials to replace fossil fuel-derived non-biodegradable plastics.In response, The Shellworks was founded in July 2019 by three Imperial College/Royal College of Art graduates. Our ambition is to disrupt the global plastics market with our bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable packaging material produced from waste agricultural biomass, a renewable and plentiful feedstock. Our innovative material is truly biodegradable and home-compostable, breaking down into marine-safe components at the end of life if it reaches the oceans.We have already successfully completed small-scale product trials with key target customers in the cosmetics industry, which have validated performance, and are ready to scale up our technology. Here, with support from Innovate UK and working with key target customers, we will scale up our production process from laboratory- to pilot-scale. Our proprietary material formulations are designed for performance in use, biodegradability even in the natural environment, and manufacturability at scale, using existing manufacturing facilities.This project supports the UK's ambition to become a world leader in sustainable packaging, tackling the global plastic waste and climate crises, in close alignment with the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging and delivering the targets of the UK Plastic Pact.