Leominster, MA — The city of Leominster is known as the “Pioneer Plastics City.” But a shift is happening, and it starts with UrthPact.
“Plastic was invented to be used for Tupperware bowls that would be passed on for generations,” said UrthPact CEO Paul Boudreau. “The mistake we made was we used the same material for products we use for 10 minutes.”
Bio-plastics, or plant based plastics, are the future, he said. And at this local company, everything is compostable.
“The first product we took on was the single use coffee pod,” Boudreau said.
Now, the company produces water bottles, caps and even bio-plastic cutlery, as well as their newest product– the bio-plastic straw.
“If I put this in my backyard in a leaf pile or clippings, two weeks its gone,” Boudreau said of the company’s products.
It’s a straw that’s both good for the planet and good for the consumer, he said. Unlike paper straws, their product doesn’t fall apart, can be tossed after one use and is actually cheaper.
On the warehouse floor, they are pumping out product and can barely keep up with demand.
But they have a singular focus: consumption without leaving a footprint. Pioneering a new era of plastics inside the Pioneer Plastics City, they are changing the game by simply changing the material.
“The plastics pollution problem is solved with bio plastics,” Boudreau said.
There is not much competition in the bio-plastic field yet for UrthPact. Creating bio-plastics is not easy. It is time-consuming and costly. UrthPact hopes the lack of competition has given them a leg up in the field.
The products are only sold to distributors and companies at this point. Consumers will soon start to see their straws at ocean-front resorts and their cutlery at Whole Foods cafes.
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