EcoPackers Inc., a company co-founded by Nuha Siddiqui that produces biodegradable packaging materials with the intent to replace traditional polystyrene (styrofoam) and polypropylene. The company has recently raised $4.3 million in pre-seed and seed financing and funding.
Using the power of plants, EcoPackers creates 100% compostable alternatives to traditional plastic. Its eco-resins give plastic manufacturers worldwide the ability to make conscious decisions and create non-toxic plant-based single-use packaging.
The company’s packaging is created by recycling agricultural by-products into eco-friendly packaging, which enables people to use an eco-friendly alternative to polystyrene and be more environmentally aware.
Siddiqui first got the idea for the start-up while she was president of the University of Toronto’s (U of T) social entrepreneurship club Enactus. She began by making packing peanuts from agricultural by-products, before gaining support from the Creative Destruction Lab.
Siddiqui, graduated from Rotman Commerce at U of T, and gained the confidence to become the CEO of her business and developed three more alternatives to plastic while learning at NEXT 36.
She had to go to great lengths to convince people how eco-friendly her products were. Siddiqui explains: “When people didn’t believe that it was 100% compostable, I would eat the product,” she said. “People were shocked and concerned.”
She goes on to discuss the difference between her products vs. other bioplastic products:
You can put it in your backyard and, after a few rainfalls, it will end up becoming part of your environment and you don’t have to put it through any industrial-level composting systems, which is usually the case with a lot of bioplastics.
The team she has created at EcoPackers is a group of passionate scientists, engineers, and environmentalists working together to change the way plastic products are manufactured, consumed, and disposed of.
With this amazing new $4.3 million raised, they are well on their way to changing the world for the better. The faster these new bioplastics become mainstream, the quicker we can stop seeing plastic pollution. To find out more about EcoPackers Inc., click here to visit the website.
