A pioneering start-up company aims to beat the scourge of plastic pollution of the oceans with its ground-breaking range of packaging made from seaweed.

PlantSea was founded in 2020 by three friends at Aberystwyth University who discovered that seaweed washed up on the beaches of West Wales could be turned into a range of biodegradable materials.

A growing seaweed harvesting industry in the UK and beyond also ensures its potential growth as a cash crop to be turned into products from eco-friendly, biodegradable materials to replace single-use plastic.

Seaweed can also be used instead of paper and card to make stationery, boxes, and bags, as well as water-soluble film and agricultural mulch film, along with packaging for cosmetics, hair care products, and washing machine capsules.

PlantSea attracted the attention of Ashley Rogers, Chief Executive of the North Wales Business Council which runs the Net Zero North Wales Network when they had a stand at a network event at Venue Cymru in Llandudno.

Dr Gianmarco Sanfratello, along with co-founders Dr Rhiannon Rees, PlantSea’s Chief Executive Officer, and Dr Alex Newnes, Chief Operation Officer, won a competition organised by Aberystwyth University with their idea to make green products from seaweed.

After winning the £10,000 award for best business idea they established the company and applied for further funding from the Welsh Government and Innovate UK to set up a laboratory and team.

Gianmarco, the Chief Technical Officer, originally from Sicily, said: “Since the start, our idea was to make packaging from seaweed, initially collected from the shore and then processed it – we used to do that in a kitchen - to make our products.

“After much trial and error, we learned that this naturally abundant marine resource could make valuable plastic alternatives to biodegradable sachets used for laundry detergents and shampoos.

“Globally, huge numbers of these products come in plastic packaging, which then ends up in the water and ultimately in the sea.

“We were very aware of plastic pollution, its consequences on the planet and how difficult it is to prevent.

“With that in mind, our seaweed water soluble film is a perfect alternative for PVA/PVOH, which is a synthetic polymer that’s generally used to make laundry pods.

“We have been working on creating a suitable material and have had support from like-minded organisations.

“While our water-soluble technology is still under development, the seaweed paper is already available in the market.”