Why Seaweed Could Be The Future Of Plastic

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When it comes to reducing plastic, every little thing kelps.

When I was little about 45 years ago, I used to go shopping to the market with my granddad. Meat and fish would be wrapped in waxed brown paper, vegetables were put in paper bags, mostly made of old newspapers, and we would carry everything home in net bags, made of ropes. Liquids were sold in glass bottles, and empties were taken back to the same shops. Everything functioned perfectly. I'm hoping that there will be an alternative for most of today's single use plastics because, less than half a decade ago, there was!

I live in China and they've already started using this alternative for many plastic bags. It may be used for other solutions, though I've yet to notice that. But, when you get a "plastic" bag made of seaweed, you know it immediately, it feels much softer and thicker. It's really quite nice.

My students did this cool experiment this spring where they tested the pH of ocean water with algae. One sample was started at a pH of 8, the other started at a pH of 6. Within 4 days the algae had changed the pH of the water back to 8.4. Seaweed farming may just be the way to combat ocean acidification, so the more ways we can promote the growth, we might just find a way to deal with our excess CO2.

A couple of questions came to mind as I watched the video. 1. At one point you mention seaweed plastic film being more expensive at up to $3600 / ton. For those of us not in the know, it would be nice to know the cost of traditional plastic film for comparison. 2. What is the shelf life of products packaged with the seaweed plastic? You touched on it when you mentioned the seaweed plastic sachets might break in shipping but I'm wondering about the "this plastic will break down in two months in your home compost". If product "X" is packaged in such packaging does it have to be sold more quickly or does the clock not start ticking until it is exposed to other elements such as water / heat / UV sunlight in the compost? If you answered either of those then I apologize for missing it.

I for one will be glad when we can finally get rid of styrofoam packaging. It's so annoying to deal with. It breaks apart into tiny static clinging particles. It's difficult to compact without some sort of grinder. It cannot be melted down without releasing toxic fumes. It cannot be recycled, so it just all ends up in the landfill.

I went up to upstate New York recently where they have banned plastic bags. stores found out that going back to paper bags is far less expensive as they thought because they're not ripping those super thin plastic bags and having to triple bag everything. Some have even started to give you the paper bags rather than charge you!

It is absolutely amazing to see companies trying trying to hard to come up with alternatives to plastic. I hope we end up with many more options in the future.

Excellent video as always! Hemp's also a super promising plastic alternative. Grows literally anywhere, meaning we can replace large swaths of cornfields (not all, obviously) with it in the US specifically, and having used at least hemp pseudo-plastic straws, I literally can't tell the difference until they end up being composted, even in non-ideal environments. Would love an eventual update on that branch of sustainable plastic replacements as well.

It all comes back to Pollution Tax. Everyone who sells plastic in any form (packaging, utensils, you name it) must pay for disposition/recycling upfront. This way non recyclable plastics will become prohibetably expensive, but would be able to compete with all materials that Matt is mentioned. Will be more expensive for consumers 🤷‍♂️. But only market forces can push alternatives forward.

I think the biggest hurdle to plastic alternatives is Durability. I am a Commercial Cleaner and have used some of the Compositible Rubbish bags in an office, they are awful. The moment any coffee/tea leaks onto them, they begin to break down and leak all over the bins forcing me to wash 8 bins by hand. In the end, while they still get compostable bags, I buy the plastic rubbish bags with my own money.

Dear Matt, Watching your videos .. gives me HOPE for the future of humanity! Please keep it up and keep smiling :)

I wish I could get this kind of info regarding these amazing startups in mainstream media. Even just a local news station just a local news station covering this could inspire that kid just happening to watch while eating breakfast before school in the morning. Exposure to anything and everything can be inspirational and evoke human curiosity. I remember watching the “Mind Blow” series by Vsause2 in the 5th grade, it helped me realize I wanted to pursue a career in technology. It’s this kind of coverage that helps us move toward the future imo. Love your channel and everything you do Matt!

Love this YouTube channel! Every single time the content here is practical, hopeful and relevant. What you're doing is a wonderful form of activism in the way I see it! Don't stop doing your holy job you do so well!

I have been watching your videos occasionally for quite some time now, and while I have enjoyed them, I have never felt compelled to subscribe to your channel. Having watched this video, I have decided to subscribe. Your manner of presenting a topic and developing it is, in my estimation, balanced, and when you have a bias, you are transparent and announce it. Having lived in Indonesia, and most likely moving back next summer to work on this very pressing problem of plastic waste, I couldn't skip this video. Thank you for addressing this subject, and keep up the good work.

Love your videos! Thanks!! This one specifically was great!

I disagree with the idea of “us” being addicted to plastics. I would wager that the majority of us, given the option, would choose a product that used less plastic. But the problem is that we don’t generally have the choice. This is one of the few things that I think can only be solved by some sort of government intervention. Most of us simply seek out the most affordable product, plastic is cheap, high sales are more appealing that lower sales, so a regulatory agency has to be the one to make the change.

So refreshing to see that progress is being made on this issue, and that there is hope.

Remarkable 🙋🏼‍♀️ thank you for sharing this with us.