a future without plastics from agricultural waste : DesignWanted

Every time you open a shipping box, use a bike helmet, or drink coffee from a takeout cup, you’ll almost certainly encounter expanded polystyrene, better known as EPS, or simply “foam.” It’s a plastic derived from petrochemicals, and it’s everywhere. It releases styrene, a classified human carcinogen, and once in the environment, it breaks down into billions of microplastic particles that can persist for hundreds of years.

Into this polluted landscape he enters Carbon cella London-based materials start-up that has developed a high-performance foam from agricultural waste. The material actively removes carbon from the atmosphere and composts at the end of its life, providing a positive hope in the fight against climate change.

Material samples © Carbon Cell

Biochar © Carbon Cell

Material samples © Carbon Cell

The team behind the material © Carbon Cell

Material samples © Carbon Cell

© Carbon Cell

Polystyrene production reached about 19 million tons in 2024 and is only expected to increase over the next decade. Annually, it is responsible for almost 200 million tons of CO₂ enters the Earth’s atmosphere and is one of the main forms of debris found on beaches worldwide. While technically recyclable, high food contamination rates and an underdeveloped processing market usually send it straight to landfill, where it releases toxins into soil and water. In the US, the only polystyrene recycling plant closed more than two years ago.

Given this, it is in everyone’s best interest to find an alternative to this material. The startup material uses biochar along with a natural polymer, allowing the composite to expand with heat, just like traditional plastic foams. The result is thermal insulation, structurally strong, light, but most importantly, carbon negative.

Biochar is essentially charcoal made from organic matter such as wood chips, corn stalks or any other agricultural residue. Through a process called pyrolysis, the carbon contained in the waste is converted into a stable and durable form, preventing it from re-entering the atmosphere as CO.₂ or methane. This isn’t the only alternative we’ve seen in material design, other solutions include mycelium-based foams or chitosan composites, however Carbon Cell claims its product is more scalable and affordable compared to its competitors.

On the regulatory front, the EU directive has already restricted expanded polystyrene food and drink containers in all member states, while the US has proposed a “Farewell to Foam Act” that would impose nationwide restrictions. These legal developments are great, but they often force manufacturers to raise their costs or consumers to deal with lower quality options. This new alternative offers similar features to EPS, as well as being able to be formatted and edited in a very similar way to its predecessor.

Carbon cell is a young company and the road between a great idea and a world-scale industrial supply chain is still long. However, the window for such widespread use of EPS is closing and the regulatory, commercial and reputational costs of plastic foams continue to rise. This innovative biochar bet is attractive and promising, and hopefully just the starting point for a Future without plastic.