I first saw this article from an Australian website, Broadstreet.com, about a small company called Great Wrap which is selling online a compostable cling wrap that is reportedly certified by DIN Certco in Germany. The cling wraps sell for AUS$8 for a 30-metre roll (I wonder if they ship to the US market…). The company only offer wholesale pricing for orders of 20+ rolls.

While I think the title of the article “This New, Plastic-Free Cling Wrap Breaks Down Quicker Than Orange Peel” is somewhat misleading since the wrap is based on PLA and PBAT (which the company’s website said the PBAT is bio-based) – these are polymers and PBAT, as far as I know, is not 100% bio-based. But yes, these types of plastics are biodegradable and compostable.

According to Great Wrap, its certified compostable and biodegradable cling wrap will break down in 2-5 years if it ends up in landfill, and about 2 years if it sits on the shelf. According to the article, the company is looking to release a 600-meter commercial roll for use in restaurants once the hospitality industry gets back on its feet. The company is in the process of shifting all of its manufacturing from China to Australia, which is reportedly a challenge since there are only two machines that can process the polymer in Australia at the moment.

While they have to be careful in terms of marketing, I do love the idea of small companies selling their own bio-based plastic materials and packaging. It reminds me of the cosmetics and personal care market where they can formulate products based on natural ingredients. What about an Etsy-type platform that markets products based on renewable carbon? That will be really cool!

By the way, I only know a couple of companies worldwide who produces and sells PBAT polymers. If anybody wants to know more about the market for PBAT and its building blocks, this is the type of information that we do provide at Tecnon OrbiChem (and Nova Institute).