Pack Expo 2024 live: Bioelements CEO backs regulation incentivizing bioplastic innovation

At the Pack Expo 2024 trade show in Chicago, Illinois, US (November 3–6), we speak to Ignacio Parada, CEO of Bioelements, about the company’s work, goals and achievements. Parada highlights the importance of product innovation and appropriate legislation for addressing today’s sustainability issues.

Bioelements is a science and technology company making bio-based products that are biodegradable and compostable.

“We work to ensure our products are not only biodegradable in perfect conditions, such as compost, but also in anaerobic conditions like landfill,” Parada tells Packaging Insights.

“We make products that have a lower carbon footprint but, at the same time, have the good aspects associated with plastics and paper — a material that is a synthesis of paper and plastic.”

The significance of legislation

Discussing what governmental legislation he would like to see to boost the work of companies like Bioelements, Parada emphasizes the importance of regulatory support for bio-based innovation.

“The best kind of policy is the one that does not ban anything but instead incentivizes innovation,” he says.

“In the US, we have many regulations aimed at incentivizing the use of new materials. The most important thing is that companies also need to be open because plastic is a problem, and we need to solve it.”

Bioelements’ products are biodegradable in anaerobic conditions, including landfills.Parada argues that the only way to truly tackle the issue of plastic pollution is by doing things differently. “If we keep on thinking that the only solution is recycling, we are doomed, and the results are going to be the same.”

“We need to be open and work with companies that want to do different things and try to create different solutions.” 

The US state of Washington recently approved Bioelements’ materials for sale, recognizing them as food compliant. 

International operations

Bioelements is based in New York, US, with locations in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. 

“We have a very big operation in Mexico where we deliver almost 1000 mt of finished product every month. We want to go big, and we have very cool products for the retail industry — both online and offline commerce — and for CPG, including products such as tissue paper and wraps. We also have a specialty line for food packaging that is growing rapidly,” says Parada. 

“Two years ago, we were only producing 100 to 200 mt a month, and our idea is to double our current monthly yield (1000 mt) by the next quarter. We’re doing our best to meet the right partners and grow. We want to have a positive impact not only on people’s lives but also on the sustainability aspect of businesses.”

With live reporting from Louis Gore Langton at Pack Expo in Chicago, US