Of the 450 million tonnes of plastic produced every year, eight end up directly in the oceans, affecting some 700 species. It is even predicted that by 2050, the weight of plastics dispersed in the seas – with single-use items and lost fishing gear being the main culprit – will exceed that of fish. A problem whose solution can no longer be postponed and which calls into question everyone working in the packaging industry.
From fish industry waste a water-soluble plastic
Therefore, the idea Davide Sanna came up with during his PhD, during which he analysed possible ways of reusing waste materials, cannot but generate interest, if not enthusiasm. This idea is behind Relicta – from the Latin ‘abandoned’ – a startup dedicated to producing a special transparent water-soluble bioplastic, biodegradable and compostable, generated from fish waste. The particularity of this film is its ability to be completely soluble in water: within 20 days in cold water and almost immediately in hot water, with no impact on the environment.
Awards and investments
The startup was created in 2020, but Davide Sanna has been working on the Relicta project since 2017 when he won the Contamination Lab in Sassari and met the people who would later become part of the team: Andrea Farina, Giovanni Conti, Mariangela Melino and Matteo Sanna.
The Contamination lab was only the first in a series of successes. The Relicta project won the Start Cup Sardegna, while in Naples, the team was chosen to be presented at the national innovation prize. Then came the funding. In 2019, the Vertis fund believed in Relicta, which officially set up as an innovative startup in 2020, and in 2022, closed a round worth half a million euros, led by Scientifica Venture Capital. The investor provided the team with the Scientifica Lab facilities in L’Aquila, now the startup’s operational headquarters.
Congratulations to those who innovate with environmental protection as a priority!
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