Products Made from Potato(es)

Here at Super Trellis, we take a great amount of time considering our impact on the planet. We really strive to ensure that our core values align with those of our customers. It’s not difficult to do, as we are equally passionate about our planet as the rest of you!

 

What is PLA or PHA?

 

All of our products are products are produced from a relatively new material that is rapidly reforming manufacturing called PLA. Some of our products are produced from a blend of PLA and PHA. Both of these materials have one important thing in common; they’re derived from renewable resources that are often eaten by all of us!

Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) differ from traditional

plastics as they are not derived from petrochemicals (oil). Common sources include potato starch, corn, and whole sugarcane. The process for creating them results in 3 to 10 times less carbon being emitted into the atmosphere. They also degrade and break down into their raw forms much faster than traditional plastics.

 

Is Super Trellis biodegradable?

 

We utilize PLA and PHA in the production of all of our products and their packaging. These materials are biodegradable! Let’s flip a small asterisk onto the end of that one and clarify.

PLA and PHA both can sustain temperatures of up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This is essential for them to be used as a material for packaging or as a replacement to traditional plastics. A lower melting point would make them unusable in most cases as they would stick to almost everything that they touch. It’s not uncommon for goods to be stored at temperatures over 100 degrees during shipping at certain times of the year.

 

In order to fully break down these materials into their raw forms, they must be heated past that temperature for some time. Most commercial composting plants deal with waste at or above these temperatures. This means disposing of your packaging and parts needs to be done correctly.

 

Most areas now provide solutions to sort your waste for landfill, recycling, and compost. You’ll want to make sure that your items make it into the compost bin. From there they’ll be taken to the proper processing plant.

 

Further ECO considerations

 

Our efforts to be less impactful to our planet don’t stop at our materials. We built our processes around “closed loop” manufacturing and also use low energy processing to make it all happen. We strive to be as low waste as possible.

 

Any parts that we produce in our shop that don’t meet our quality control standards are recycled. We grind them up, turn them back into raw pellets, and then use the pellets to make new parts! This process takes extra time, but it is totally worth it.

 

We also employ a practice called “just in time” inventory. We don’t hold large swaths of inventory and only produce enough to fill your order. This means that your order is produced when it is ordered, without any extra waste sitting around. Often times companies will dispose of old inventory if it doesn’t sell. We hate that thought and only like to keep as much on hand as we absolutely need.

 

For the Future

 

We do not plan to stop our eco friendly efforts any time soon. As we grow as a business, we plan to explore the possibilities of recycling waste plastic bottles into materials to produce Super Trellis. Also, mycelium looks like it has a promising future with us! There are some awesome developments going on behind closed doors that we can’t wait to share with you.