Neha Jain, a former Google employee, has proved that it is possible to create affordable and biodegradable covers from seaweed.
The covers invented by her startup Zerocircle are 100 per cent biodegradable. Neha started this startup after resigning from Google. Her aim is to bring about eco-friendly alternatives to plastic packages.
Reports say that single-use plastic is adversely affecting nature. By 2050, it would form 5-10 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. Neha and her startup attempt to find solutions to this issue. The packages that can be made to compost within the home are made from more than 12,000 varieties of seaweed.
As part of the project, they discovered a shore near Murud-Janjira in Maharashtra to cultivate seaweed. The pilot study was done during the Covid-19 time. Neha continued her job despite the challenges posed by covid. Currently, she is looking for assistants to strengthen the seaweed ecosystem in India.
The bootstrapped company was started in July 2020 with an investment of 20 lakhs. It started cultivating seaweed in association with two farms in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Zerocircle uses seaweeds in red, green, and brown shades. After collecting the seaweeds, they are dried and ground to make finer materials. This can be used to make a variety of products such as handbags, and films to cover foods. Neha says Zerocircle’s target is to make one-tonne films per day. She wants to reduce 2,500 to 3,000 tonnes of plastic within the next three years.
The startup received a pre-seeding fund of 3 lakhs dollars last year from Rainseed Foundation. Today, Zerocircle works in three labs where it researches, makes products, and does validation and certification. By 2023, the products will be commercialised.
