Novamont’s Mater-Bi resins and products have been available in the South African marketplace since late 2018, sold by The Compostable Co into the retail, manufacturing and agricultural industries, although disruptions to supply channels and the advent of the Covid pandemic has set the market penetration programme back almost two years.
These products are developed specifically for the South African markets but also have international appeal.
“Extensive research in the agricultural sector revealed some anomalies,” says Guy Sampson, COO of The Compostable Co. “Whilst great strides have been made in the Bio plastic (Agri-Mulch) arena in covering soils for new plantings, very little attention was paid to what happened above the ground. It stands to reason that if one goes to great expense treating the soil, why not spend a little extra on managing what goes on above?”
Their agri-tape is a 100% compostable tape for grafting in nurseries and tying up vines, branches or flowers which is now price-competitive with imported conventional plastic tape.
Mater-Bi compostable agri-tape (photos supplied by The Compostable Co)
“The opaque tape is less conspicuous,” he points out. All of their compostable mulch clients have started using the tape successfully, and flower growers and nurseries are now also showing interest.
“We are hopeful that this multipurpose tape will replace the millions of meters of plastic tapes used annually in agriculture, in South Africa and worldwide,” he says.
It is strong enough for all the above applications, he adds. “The tape has amazing stretch capabilities for a ‘firm’ tight bind on all types of cuttings and branches. Essentially this tape will outperform its plastic counterparts in applications such as grafting, trellising, plant support, vineyard management and so forth."
"The real kicker here is that the tape will stretch and decompose within 12 to 24 months, depending on the weather conditions. The tie should fall to the ground where it can be simply pushed underground to compost. Ultimately a no fuss no mess solution from unsightly plastic and a real labour saving innovation!"
Made of non-GMO corn starch, cellulose, and vegetable oil (not palm oil) in Italy using proprietary technologies, Mater-Bi resin have nearly thirty years of research, development and commercial use as vine, fruit & vegetable mulch.
The agri-tape brochure is available here.
For trade enquiries or more information, contact:
Guy Sampson
The Compostable Company
Tel: +27 82 801 9119
Email: [email protected]
www.thecompostableco.com