Australian ingenuity has designed a new greener organic pallet, with inventors eyeing a big slice of the US$90 million global export pallet market
Australian ingenuity has designed a new greener organic pallet, with inventors eyeing a big slice of the US$90 million global export pallet market.
Biofiba is a synthetic simulated timber, made from hemp fibre and corn starch that replaces wood, plastic and polystyrene in the manufacture of export pallets.
Biofiba Managing Director Laurie Dummett says the product, developed with the help of the CSIRO, will save trees and burn less fossil fuels.
“This is a first in every sense of the word,” he says.
“In six months a Biofiba pallet will look like a pile of pepper, it’s 100 percent biodegradable.”
About 40 percent of timber harvest around the world is used to make pallets, according to Dummett.
“Export pallets are a massive problem for our environment in many ways. The vast majority are produced for one-way, one-time use,” he says.
“There is a worldwide timber shortage and plastics production utilises expensive petrochemical fossil fuels with high carbon emissions.
“Although our focus is on the environment, there are also financial benefits to any business that experiences shipping costs. Pallets and their disposal are becoming big, expensive issues.”
The Biofiba team expect to capture a substantial percentage of the export pallet market within five years.
“We do feel like we are taking on the world, but the support and involvement of the CSIRO and AusIndustry is very encouraging and a sign that we are on to something significant,” Dummett says.
Biofiba already has potential clients lodging expressions of interest to manufacture in Australia, China, Malaysia, India and the United States.
The company is looking for investors to roll out the business internationally.