The Real Deal #15

Hi Everyone and Welcome…

…to our last first post of 2024 2025!

We were hoping to get this issue out on Tuesday but the stars weren’t aligned. We’ll be back on cadence from here on out!

We at getreal.earth are looking forward to a massive and transformative 2025. We just nailed down our timeline for launch, and it’s starting to feel “real.” Can’t wait.

Today I’m going to remind you about the burden plastic puts on human and planetary health, and talk about an encouraging and possibly transformative development from a tiny company in California called Origin Materials, that:

1. Was founded in 2008 by UC Davis students,

2. Went public in 2021, and

3. Is pursuing previously-abandoned challenges and solving big problems, through all the noise and swings in political attitudes.

In short, I was excited when someone shared information about what this little operation is doing and what they announced.

People are doing something about plastic packaging!

A few weeks ago, we ranted about Coca-cola and their contributions to the plastic waste problem we are dealing with in the ocean.

There are many stunning and frightening figures to understand about the enormity of the problem. You can find out more in that post or this one, but just know that a lot of people see what’s happening in the Pacific Garbage Patches (yes - they exist) and the topic of single-use plastics, in general.

I’m not a chemist… I don’t know the differences between types of plastics, like PET or PP - but I am learning. I do remember several years ago when “BPA” became a thing to avoid, and everyone started buying Yeti and HydroFlask bottles.

But it doesn’t take much to find information about how to know if what you’re drinking from is safe.

Today, drinks are packaged in and consumed from plastic bottles around the world in massive numbers, while recycling rates remain low.

(Incidentally, this is a thing)

So far we have established:

1. That a lot of plastic is used in bottle-making.

2. Plastic (in may forms, including and in large part, bottles) is all over the ocean.

3. There are different kinds of plastic used in different kinds of packaging.

Now let’s talk a little bit about the plastics in our lives. I read this article recently - a post on The Cool Down - that starts with this statement:

And it was true (of course), and if you think about it, it probably is for you too, right now as you’re reading this. By the time I did at 7 AM, I had used some healthcare products and buttered a couple slices of toast.

(The butter came in a packaging made with “PP” - Polypropylene - which is “sometimes recyclable.”):

It’s everywhere, the plastic.

Throwing a lot at you today, but here’s the point: Things are changing

When I started this newsletter, I wanted to talk about ways to make an impact.

Quietly, many companies are working on advancements in battery technology, renewable energy, EV upgrades, carbon capturing, and more. a better way to package the stuff we buy in materials that will biodegrade or that we can more easily and efficiently recycle.

And what I said in my “Coca-Cola” post was that no beverage company is going to willingly change their packaging if there is no alternative that keeps their prices at a point people will accept.

-UNTIL…someone comes along and presents a viable solution.

I looks like Origin may have done just that.

It’s been a few days since I received the email about this article in Forbes, but here is the gist:

• Origin has been cash-strapped and changed their business model in recent years to partnership based. They have a facility and develop science with partners to achieve milestones and make an impact.

• Their mission: Enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials.

• They recently had a breakthrough, and have declared that they have identified a process for transforming crushed wood chips into biodegradable plastic.

The “crushed wood chips,” called lignocellulosic biomass, is used to create a chemical that can be converted into a biodegradable plastic. The chemical is called chloromethyl furfural (CMF).

And finally - they believe that the production of the material will be achieved using carbon-neutral - or even carbon negative - processes.

What this could mean for single-use plastics - the potential - is huge.

Imagine a world in the not-to-distant future when a salesperson from Origin or a similar company approaches packaging designers at Coke and says, "Guess what you could put in your advertising: ‘Coke’s bottles are carbon negative.’”

Talk about a PR win - not to mention a science and planetary win.