[Jamestown Press RI, USA, 13 FEBRUARY 2025]
Biowrap can be used to wrap everything from boats, above, to buildings, below. Created by Jamestown resident Simon Milne, the wrap is biodegradable and breaks down completely in landfills.
According to 11th Hour Racing, there are about 6.2 million registered boats in the United States, which generate more than 46,472 tons, or 92 million pounds, of shrink-wrap annually.
That includes 294 tons of shrinkwrap in Rhode Island with only 7 percent of that being recycled.
The harbor department’s two patrol boats in Jamestown, however, do not add to that pollution. Harbormaster Bart Totten was approached in the fall by Simon Milne, a Jamestown man whose company, bioaqualife™, produces biowrap. The wrap, which is biodegradable and does not leave behind microplastics when it is buried at the landfill, ultimately won the bid.
“It does everything we need,” said James Heagney, executive director of the department, “and it came at a very good price. … It looks and behaves just like the traditional stretch film.”
“We really like that it’s recyclable. It’s good for the environment,” Totten added. “It seems to be working great so far.”
Milne, who originally is from the United Kingdom, is no stranger to the waterfront as he has sailed from Narragansett Bay to Australia to the Mediterranean. The idea for Biowrap surfaced from a casual conversation with friends who were sitting around at the beginning of a sailing season discussing how bad the plastic problem was in April, May and June when the plastic comes off the boats after winterization.
“We knew we had a way to tackle the problem,” Milne said. “We just had to develop the plastic itself. We had to have plastic that performed well and stood up to the winters.”
According to Milne, it took five years to develop and test the plastic. The biowrap, which is manufactured in the United States and has a distinct mint green color, was launched in July 2023. It is available in the United States, France and the United Arab Emirates with plans to expand to the rest of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Central America and South America.
Available in thickness ranging from 7 to 7.5 millimeters, Milne said the innovative material is functionally comparable to traditional shrink-wrap films. Although the width ranges from 18 to 40 feet, the rolls maintain a consistent weight of 200 pounds.
“This combination of durability, versatility, and consistent weight is enhanced by its biodegradable properties, ensuring marine professionals don’t just protect their assets but also contribute to a greener future,” the company boasts.
According to Milne, biowrap uses “organic enzymes to attract naturally occurring anaerobic bacteria in the landfill to digest the enzymes and break down the large plastic polymer molecules into smaller organic molecules that the bacteria then recognize as food. They then digest these smaller molecules and continue the process until the plastic is fully biodegraded.”
Milne said the wrap does not break down into microplastics. The company is required by the Federal Trade Commission to corroborate their biodegradable claims. Milne said their latest testing, after 501 days, found 41.7 percent of the product biodegraded.
Luke Hickling, owner of Moriches Island Shrink Wrap, reviewed the product on YouTube.
“This piece of plastic isn’t going to be around for 1,000 years,” he said. “To me, it’s an easy win.” Committed to a cleaner, greener environment for his children, Milne said he was “really proud that the small town of Jamestown is using it.”
Source: https://www.jamestownpress.com/pageview/viewer/2025-02-13