On September 14, PlantSwitch, a U.S.-based PHA startup, announced the completion of a securities offering raising nearly $13 million. The funds will be used to advance the scaled manufacturing of its "CompostZero" bio-resin.
From Golf Teammates to Biomaterials Entrepreneurs
PlantSwitch co-founders Dillon Baxter and Maxime Blandin were teammates on the Southern Methodist University (SMU) golf team.
Blandin moved to the U.S. from Martinique at age 13, studied economics at SMU on a golf scholarship, and later played professional golf on the European Tour. Baxter majored in finance and alternative asset management, also attending SMU on academic and athletic scholarships.
In late 2019, after experiencing how paper straws became soggy and ineffective when wet, the pair began exploring plant-based alternatives. Blandin connected this issue to the marine plastic pollution he had witnessed while growing up in the Caribbean. Their first product was an agave-based straw; in the early days of the venture, they went door-to-door pitching to restaurants in Dallas.
Baxter had systematically studied small and medium-sized manufacturers during a private equity internship, which introduced him to the bioplastics industry. After graduating, he worked briefly in investment banking before returning to PlantSwitch full-time after the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the restaurant industry. *Forbes* later named both of them to its "30 Under 30" list in the Manufacturing & Industry category.
Product Evolution: From Straws to an Industrial Resin
Platform PlantSwitch has long since moved beyond just making straws. They developed CompostZero-a proprietary bio-based resin with a key selling point: it can be used directly on existing plastic processing equipment, meaning customers do not need to replace production lines or purchase new machinery. This is commercially crucial; if a compostable material requires processors to invest in new equipment, the associated costs and execution risks would immediately deter most buyers.
CompostZero is produced by compounding PHA-synthesized and accumulated by bacteria consuming recycled agricultural waste such as rice husks, wheat straw, and corn husks-with agricultural fibers and other biopolymers. Consequently, it is classified as a PHA-based modified biocomposite rather than 100% pure PHA. The company cites clients and organizations that have evaluated its products-including Walmart, Taylor Farms, Live Nation, Starlink, and Wonder-and claims to have diverted over 880,000 pounds of plastic from the waste stream (a figure that has not been independently audited).
Regarding third-party testing, PlantSwitch cites data from the Normec Group indicating that CompostZero fully decomposes under home composting conditions in less than 10 weeks, leaving no microplastic residues.
Although PlantSwitch has secured $13 million in funding, it faces a highly competitive landscape:
Shellworks (manufacturer of the fermentation-derived material Vivomer) raised $15 million in March 2026, while Teknor Apex acquired Danimer Scientific in June 2025-moves that highlight the consolidation pressures facing the alternative materials sector even before achieving lasting scale.
For the two founders, the new $13 million in capital will support operations, but the true test lies in production scale, yield control, feedstock consistency (managing quality fluctuations in agricultural residues like rice husks and wheat straw), and customer certification. These critical metrics will ultimately determine whether CompostZero can compete head-to-head with petroleum-based plastics.
