Massachusetts lab turns sugar into compostable forks that break down in months

At a research facility in Woburn, Massachusetts, technicians are moulding pebble-sized pellets into forks and films designed to decompose without leaving microplastics. The pellets are made by CJ Biomaterials, which ferments sugar to produce plant-based polymers. These polymers, called polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), are consumed by microbes in compost, breaking down within six months.

The lab has produced compostable cutlery, straws, coated cups, and food packaging. Test forks were thin enough for home composting but too bendy to stab a steak. Other batches were rigid, similar to conventional plastic forks. The material is intended to replace single-use plastics that cannot be recycled due to food contamination, reducing methane emissions from landfills.

CJ Biomaterials, a subsidiary of the South Korean conglomerate CJ Group, has been manufacturing PHA at a facility in Pasuruan, Indonesia, since 2022. The company feeds sugar to microbes, which convert it into PHA for energy. The PHA is collected, turned into granules, and sold to manufacturers for moulding into products. The same bacteria that produce PHA consume it in compost piles.

Globally, biobased plastics account for roughly 0.5% of the more than 400 million metric tons of plastics produced annually, according to the industry group European Bioplastics. Production is projected to double by 2030. The World Wildlife Fund views bioplastics as one part of a broader solution to plastic pollution, alongside reducing overall plastic production.

What the coverage left out

No right-rated outlet ran this story. None of the digests or reports mentioned the cost of producing PHA bioplastics or compared it to conventional plastics. The AP report did not specify how much CJ Biomaterials’ products cost or whether they are commercially available. The projected doubling of bioplastics production by 2030 was omitted from all digests.