最近有报告指出，人类仅有不到10年的时间来拯救不可逆转的塑料垃圾危机。当前越来越多的行业与企业正在探寻更多的塑料替代品解决方案，在包装领域，一些新材料科技初创公司正在开展藻类包装的解决方案。海藻是一种可食用、完全生物降解的包装材料，旨在让包装能够自然地消失，最终取代塑料。而海藻的优势在于，它是地球上最充足的生物质来源之一。
Can seaweed help solve the world's plastic crisis?
After you finish your fries, eat the ketchup packet. When you add your pasta to boiling water, toss the bag into the pot, too.
吃完薯条后，吃番茄酱包。当你把意大利面放入沸水时，把袋子也扔进锅里。
If these instructions sound confusing to you, it's only because you haven't yet heard of Notpla, a London-based startup company that is designing a seaweed-based replacement for single-use plastic packaging. Founded in 2014, the company closed a £10 million ($13.5 million) Series A financing round last month, led by the VC firm Horizons Ventures, to scale and further develop its product line.
如果这些食品说明让您感到困惑，那只是因为您还没有听说过 Notpla。这是一家总部位于伦敦的初创企业，正在设计一种以海藻为原料的一次性塑料包装替代品。该公司成立于 2014 年，上个月完成了由风险投资公司维港投资（Horizons Ventures）领投的 1000 万英镑（1350 万美元）A 轮融资，以扩大和进一步完善其产品线。
Notpla's products are meant to be composted or dissolved after use -- though some are edible, too. Current offerings include sachets for condiments, water and even alcohol; a film wrap for products in your pantry or bathroom, like coffee or toilet paper; and takeaway boxes that replace plastic-based coating with seaweed lining to make them fully biodegradable.
Notpla旨在开发出使用后可堆肥或溶解的包装产品——有些产品也可以食用。目前的产品包括调味品、水甚至酒精的小包装袋；用于食品储藏室或浴室产品的薄膜包装，如咖啡或卫生纸；还有外卖盒，用海藻涂层代替塑料涂层，使其完全可生物降解。
Notpla design director Karlijn Sibbel says they look to nature as inspiration "for the ideal packaging," like the skin on a fruit. "A peel will eventually be used (as nutrients) by nature, and disappear and become a part of the cycle," she said.
Notpla 设计总监 Karlijn Sibbel 表示，他们将大自然视为“理想包装”的灵感来源，就像水果皮一样。 “果皮最终会被大自然所用（作为营养物质），然后消失并成为循环的一部分，”她说。
The approach feels especially relevant as the world is coming to terms with the effects of decades of unfettered plastic production. According to the UN, 300 million tonnes (331 million tons) of plastic waste are produced globally each year, and out of the estimated 8.3 billion tonnes (9.15 billion tons) of plastic produced since the early 1950s, about 60% has been landfilled or discarded outdoors.
全球数十年来的塑料生产不受任何约束，为了降低塑料所带来的影响，这种方法显得尤为重要。据联合国称，全球每年产生 3 亿吨（3.31 亿吨）塑料垃圾，自上世纪五十年代初以来，估计产生的 83 亿吨（91.5 亿吨）塑料中，约 60% 被填埋或丢弃在户外。
Over the past few years, there has been a growing movement against single-use plastics as many experts have argued the products are unnecessary and harmful, and businesses have come under fire for using them excessively. In the US, some states and municipalities have taken action: New York banned most plastic shopping bags, and in Miami Beach, plastic straws have been outlawed. Overseas, the European Union put a broad ban on single-use plastics into effect this summer, and India plans to follow suit next year, the government announced in August.
在过去的几年里，反对一次性塑料制品的运动越来越多，因为许多专家认为这些产品是不必要的和有害的，而且企业因过度使用它们而受到抨击。在美国，一些州和市政当局已采取行动：纽约禁止使用大多数塑料购物袋，而在迈阿密海滩，塑料吸管已被取缔。欧盟今年夏天对一次性塑料实施了广泛的禁令，印度政府在 8 月宣布，计划于明年效仿相应措施。
Notpla's founders, Rodrigo García González and Pierre Paslie, initially looked to seaweed as the solution to the world's plastic problem because it is abundant, grows quickly, doesn't compete with land crops, and sequesters carbon from the air, Sibbel explained.
Sibbel 解释说，Notpla 的创始人 Rodrigo García González 和 Pierre Paslie 最初将海藻视为解决全球塑料问题的方法，因为它产量丰富、生长迅速、不与土地作物争土壤，并且可以从空气中吸收二氧化碳。
"Seaweed doesn't use land; it doesn't use pesticides," Sibbel said. "It can grow into the ocean and the sea, where it actually has a lot of positive benefits so it can create new ecosystems for other organisms to thrive in."
“海藻不使用土壤；它不使用杀虫剂，”Sibbel 说。 “它可以在海洋中生长，在那里它实际上有很多积极的好处，它可以为其他生物创造新的生态系统。”
Since its founding, the startup has been awarded grants from the British government agency Innovate UK and the circular economy nonprofit Ellen MacArthur Foundation for its first product, the Ooho sachet, which holds single servings of liquids. The new financing round will go toward ramping up the production of the Ooho and Notpla coating, while further developing their new seaweed paper and multipurpose film wrap.
自成立以来，这家初创公司因其第一个产品 Ooho 小袋而获得了英国政府机构 创新英国（Innovate UK）和循环经济非营利组织艾伦·麦克阿瑟基金会(Ellen MacArthur Foundation) 的资助，该产品可容纳单份液体。新一轮融资将用于提高 Ooho 和 Notpla 涂层的生产，同时进一步开发新的海藻纸和多用途薄膜包装。
The paper is made from the fibers left over from creating other Notpla products and can be used to make items like gift wrap or clothes tags, while the film wrap can hold most dry goods or wet goods with low water content.
这种海藻纸是由制作其他 Notpla 产品时剩下的纤维制成的，可用于制作礼品包装或衣服标签等物品，而薄膜包装可容纳大多数干货或含水量低的湿货。
"The exciting thing is that this is a film that can replace most of the flexible packaging that you see around," Sibbel said. The potential contents could include coffee grounds, toilet paper or the screws included for furniture assembly. For food items, such as pasta, they have even experimented with adding flavors to the packaging, so that dissolving the bag could add seasoning to the skillet.
“令人兴奋的是，这是一种可以取代你周围看到的大多数软包装的薄膜，”Sibbel 说。潜在的物品可能包括咖啡渣、卫生纸或用于家具组装的螺丝。对于意大利面等食品，他们甚至尝试在包装中添加调味剂，以便溶解袋子可以为煎锅添加调味料。
Industry shifts
行业转移
Some of Notpla's products are available online, but the company has also landed some major partnerships in the UK and around Western Europe to provide beverages at festivals like DGTL in Amsterdam and Glastonbury in Somerset. In 2019, Notpla distributed 36,000 Oohos filled with the energy drink Lucozade Sport during the London Marathon, and it provided edible Glenlivet capsules at London Cocktail Week.
Notpla 的一些产品可以在线购买，但该公司还在英国和西欧各地建立了一些主要的合作伙伴关系，在阿姆斯特丹的 DGTL 和萨默塞特的格拉斯顿伯里等节日提供饮料。 2019 年，Notpla 在伦敦马拉松期间分发了 36,000 个装有能量饮料 Lucozade Sport 的 Oohos，并在伦敦鸡尾酒周期间提供了可食用的 Glenlivet 胶囊。
Last year, the startup tested 30,000 takeaway boxes at different UK restaurants in collaboration with the online food ordering service Just Eat, and plans are underway to offer the boxes around Europe in 2022.
去年，这家初创公司与在线食品订购服务 Just Eat 合作，在不同的英国餐厅测试了 30,000 个外卖盒，并计划在 2022 年在欧洲各地提供外卖盒。
As they scale up, Notpla's team hopes seaweed could replace single-use plastic in the supply chain more broadly, Sibbel said, but with the volume of plastics used around the world, she understands the enormity of such a task.
Sibbel 说，随着生产规模的扩大，Notpla 的团队希望海藻可以更广泛地取代供应链中的一次性塑料，但鉴于世界各地使用的塑料数量众多，她理解这项任务的艰巨性。
"I don't think one material (or) one solution is going to solve everything, but we think that seaweed really ticks the right boxes," she said.
“我不认为一种材料（或）一种解决方案可以解决所有问题，但我们认为海藻确实符合要求，”她说。
Rethinking when and why we used plastic will be crucial to Notpla breaking into other industries, Sibbel said. "Plastic can do a lot of things," she added. But it's about asking, "Is it really necessary for this application?"
Sibbel 说，重新思考我们何时以及为何使用塑料对于 Notpla 进入其他行业至关重要。 “塑料可以做很多事情，”她补充道。但关键是提出疑问，“这个使用真的有必要吗？”
"You don't have to have the properties of plastic. Why are we using plastic?" Sibbel asked, laughing. "I really hope to see the industry move and also embrace (change) in a positive way."
“你不必具备塑料的特性。我们为什么要使用塑料？”西贝尔笑着问道。 “我真的希望看到这个行业发生变化，并以积极的方式拥抱（改变）。”
