Translator: Karolina Agnieszka Kozlowska Reviewer: Elisabeth Buffard
Sixteen billion,
that’s the number of yogurt pots that are consumed each year in France.
Worldwide,
that represents 15 million tons of plastic that are produced each year
only for the packaging.
Unfortunately, we only recycle 5% of all plastic packagings.
The rest is burned because it is too thin, too brittle, too complex.
Surely, we all would like to live without plastic.
But we also know its specific characteristics
make it difficult to find a replacement.
Today, I am here to introduce you to our solution
which allows you to combine the benefits of plastic
while reducing its negative impact on the environment.
Sometimes, nature quietly suggests us solutions.
Our innovation relies on the application of enzymes.
You are certainly aware of those enzymes
that, within our organism, help us digest our food.
Thus, we asked ourselves
if the same enzymes could also help us break down plastic materials.
Therefore, our idea was to introduce these enzymes directly into plastics
to make them 100% compostable by means of an additive.
They are introduced directly at the time of the manufacturing process
to make packagings degradable in compost bins.
As of now, this additive works on PLA -
in simple terms a polylactic acid -
which is a polymer derived from organic sources,
which means it can be produced from corn starch or sugar cane.
Thus, a double advantage.
On the one hand, it is a polymer, a bio-based plastic, not petroleum-based,
which allows a 75% reduction of the carbon footprint,
and which is entirely biodegradable in the compost bin of your garden.
But rest assured that a yogurt pot will not disintegrate in your fridge,
given how the enzyme needs specific conditions to activate.
It is only in your garden that the enzyme will activate
and set in motion the biodegradation of the pot.
The yogurt pot will completely deteriorate
in you garden, in less than six months.
To draw a comparison, it takes less time than the degradation of an oak leaf
picked up in the garden.
Perhaps you already know it,
but one day composting will be a reality for all Europeans.
By 2023, each one of you will have to sort their biowaste.
And thanks to our solution,
these yogurt pots could be included in the process.
Our ambition for 2030,
is to reduce by a third the incineration of yogurt pots in France,
as they cannot be recycled.
To reach this goal,
we believe that we need to act on several levels.
By reducing, surely, by reusing when possible
or by replacing only when needed.
Recycling is still the best of options.
And in this case, your yogurt pot will go from being waste to being a resource
in your composting.
The good news is that PLA can be also used
for the production of other types of packaging
which opens up a vast field of possible application.
I assure you that what I’ve been holding in my hands for the last three minutes
is a small pot for man
but a big step in putting an end to plastic materials.
Thank you.
(cheering)