Plastic is among the most common solid waste generated in Singapore. According to 2021 data from the National Environment Agency (NEA), plastic only follows behind ferrous metal, paper and cardboard, and construction and demolition waste. In 2021, 982,000 tonnes of plastic were generated in Singapore; of this figure, only 58,000 tonnes were recycled, giving it a recycling rate of 6%, the second lowest among waste types (textile and leather at 4%).
One startup in Singapore has made it its mission to help combat the plastic waste issue in the city. Karen Cheah founded Alterpacks in 2019, a startup that uses organic waste to create alternative material for plastic packaging. Made of compostable plant-based fibers, Alterpacks packaging primarily comprises spent grains like malt and barley that have been disposed of by food manufacturers. These spent grains, which are the byproduct of malted drinks and beer, often go to landfills or are turned into compost and animal feed once used up.
Alterpacks, however, upcycles these grains into food containers, thus "going beyond reduce, reuse, [and] recycle." These containers are also reusable, microwaveable, and freezer friendly.
"The genesis of Alterpacks lies in garbage. When I was working on my Master of Science in Innovation at SMU, the capstone project required us to create a hypothetical startup," Cheoh said in a video by Singapore Management University's Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship on Nov. 16, 2022.
"They challenged us to solve a global problem. What I had encountered in all of my travels was garbage and this was plastics and food waste that was choking whole communities."
Alterpacks is supported by non-profit organisation Temasek Foundation and was an incubatee at the Singapore Management University's Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship's Business Innovators Generator.
Just early this year, in January, Alterpacks closed its pre-seed funding round with US$1 million (S$1.3 million), as per a report by Asian tech media platform e27 on Jan. 3. This funding will help the startup to produce more alternative food containers and expand its reach across Asia, Australia, and Europe.
Currently, Alterpacks is being used in Vietnam after it was piloted by Pizza 4P's last October 2022, with the alternative food containers available at the restaurant's Ho Chi Minh City location.
Alterpacks was also able to work with the United Nations Development Programme in 2022 for a nine-month feasibility study in 2022 after winning the End Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge (EPPIC) the year prior. In March 2022, the alternative containers were piloted at the MotoGP event in Mandalika.
The startup comprises Cheah as founder and CEO, Chief Financial Officer Herbin Chia, Chief Operating Officer Steven Tan Boon Heng, Chief Technology Officer Dr. Liu Wu, Project Manager Julie Lee, and Research Engineer Nur Aina Farhana Mat Nasir.
