Pact Renewables announces the introduction of plastic-free soil degradable seedling pots to Australian markets

The seedling pots are made from common industrial minerals and form part of an agricultural container product line to be progressively offered from July 2022.

SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA, June 20, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — The magnitude and urgency of challenges associated with the disposal of plastic pots is acknowledged both governments and industry around the world, and whilst several initiatives, such as the EU’s approach of “Re-think plastics” and refund strategies are currently being actively pursued, the fact remains that very little progress has been made towards finding and implementing sustainable solutions based on appropriate technologies. Consequentially, the bulk of agricultural planting containers, made of low-quality plastics, continue to be discarded in landfills or incinerated.

Dr Aharon Arakel, the director and chief technologist of Pact Renewables said, “Our mineral-based planting containers, collectively known as dPOT planting containers, offer wide-ranging applications from household gardening to horticulture, reforestation and mine site land rehabilitation, and we are pleased to coincide our announcement with World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, that we celebrated on 17 June, and highlights the need for increasing resilience of agricultural practices in many drought impacted regions and countries, whilst reducing the use of plastic planting containers burdened with high life cycle costs.

Dr Arakel went on to say, “As we announced in our January press release, we have over a number of years developed, systematically assessed, and confirmed the applicability of our mineral-based composites technology for the production of degradable feedstock for manufacture of plantable containers. An overriding objective which we have now largely achieved is generating a microenvironment within these degradable containers that offers high water retention capacity for healthy and uninterrupted plant growth, from seeding to mature plant stage. We have found that having a seedling pot with the ability to provide a controlled pH and a low watering frequency requirement is ideal for healthy plant growth in remote areas, whether it is an arid zone or a mine site requiring rehabilitation; and we believe that our seedling pots are the right solutions for such applications. This has necessitated undertaking a rigorous product performance assessment program, using a variety of prototypes of seedling pots and self-watering pots that incorporate old plastic pots as outer lining, as well as pots for growing herbs and flowers that thrive in certain soil pH ranges. Based on our findings earlier this year, we finalised the micro-engineering design of the products for various market segments before completing the related techno-economic evaluations. I am now pleased to announce that commencing from July this year the dPOT seedling pots, as our introductory product line in both standard and nutrient enriched versions for domestic use in Australia, will be available through our affiliated business arm, dCore Australia.”

Dr Arakel went on to conclude, “With a high technology readiness level for our degradable planting containers and a rigorous IP protection strategy already in place, we are now ready to provide access to our technology to interested parties for worldwide commercialisation of dPOT planting containers via technology licensing, product-based JV partnership, contract R&D for product optimisation, related advisory and training services or any other mutually acceptable arrangements. I welcome enquiries and requests for further information from the interested parties; we are particularly keen to partner in projects where our soil degradable planting containers and our in-house skills for design rethinking of agricultural pots can be beneficially applied to address the menaces of climate change, such as water shortage in agriculture and reduction in reliance on plastics in mine site and forest revegetation projects.”

About Pact Renewables
Pact Renewables is a private technology development company and owner of a portfolio of sustainable technologies for waste reduction via product recovery with measurable impactful outcomes. The Company draws from the skills of highly qualified personnel, including scientists, engineers, and ecologists, along with Dr. Aharon Arakel, the lead technology developer and a recognised world expert in the field of product recovery from saline waste streams. In addition to holding a proprietary technology portfolio and expertise, the Company operates specialised in-house material testing and field demonstration facilities to cater for the needs of industries seeking integrated services for addressing waste challenges, improving their value chain, and achieving their sustainability objectives.

Aharon Arakel
Pact Renewables Pty Ltd
+61 2 9484 4274
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