Styrene foam made from shrimp shells and food waste
More than 100 cities in the United States have enacted laws that restrict or completely prohibit the use of disposable polystyrene foam, especially in restaurants and transportation of food and other products. In California alone, there are 97 cities or counties that partially or completely ban the use of disposable polystyrene foam. The other is planned to be in Los Angeles County in May this year
At the same time, companies that transport or sell fragile products, food or medical supplies need to keep low temperature during transportation, and still need materials with light weight, insulation quality and manufacturability of polystyrene foam.
This is the opportunity of the Cruz foam, the place of entrepreneurship. This start-up company was founded by CEO John Felts and CTO Marco Rolandi in 2017. At present, it has about 30 full-time employees. It has created a substitute for expanded polystyrene and is famous for its trade name Polystyrene Foam.
Cruz foam is made of natural materials, including chitin and starch and fiber transferred from agricultural waste streams. Chitin is a polymer contained in the exoskeleton of shrimp, other crustaceans and insects. It is biodegradable and generally safe for animals to eat.
In contrast, the traditional polystyrene foam is made of heavy chemicals and degrades slowly. When it is broken and accumulated in our ocean, it is proved to be harmful, thus increasing the micro plastic pollution.
According to wildlife protection researchers, at Animal and Plant International, when marine organisms ingest polystyrene foam, It "will lead to a series of problems, such as digestive disorders, false satiety that may lead to hunger and decreased fertility. In addition, polystyrene foam products are usually treated with flame retardants, which can absorb other pollutants from the surrounding water, thus increasing the threat to any wild animals that eat or live in waste polystyrene foam.
On February 8, Cruz Foam officially launched its new transportation product line, including:
Foam and paper packaging can replace bubble packaging or foamed plastic peanuts
Foam filled mail
Foam cooler, which can protect and maintain the low temperature of fresh and frozen goods
Foam products that protect large items such as furniture.
