Turning bio-waste into an alternative to cling film 

The home compostable food wrap is available via a subscription model

Spotted: As bans on single-use plastics become law, eco-conscious brands have an opportunity to fill the gap as demand for convenient food wraps remains high and the industry as a whole is expected to continue growing. In Australia, Great Wrap has created a plastic wrap that is home-compostable and available as a subscription.

Julia Kay, Great Wrap co-CEO, said that she and her co-founder and co-CEO Jordy Kay “knew that this product was essential in businesses and supply chains all over the world, and we couldn’t believe there wasn’t already a compostable alternative on the market. So we decided to develop the material we knew the world needed.”

The company’s stretchable food covering is made of agroforestry waste and plant-based oils and works just like traditional, fossil-fuel-derived plastic wrap. Called ‘Nudie Rolls’, Great Wrap’s food covering is compostable, safe to microwave for short periods of time and designed to protect food in both the fridge and freezer.

In addition, the company has developed a dispenser called the Great Mate made from 33 recycled PET bottles that holds and cuts Nudie Rolls. Great Wrap subscriptions are available on a two- or three-month basis, and both Great Mate and Nudie Rolls are manufactured in Melbourne in the same facility as Great Wrap’s offices. Great Wrap also manufactures hand pallet wrap and machine pallet wrap for companies of all sizes, with various thicknesses to suit their needs, including heavy and light loads.

Great Wrap products are currently available in Australia and the United States, and the company plans to continue to expand availability internationally. Additionally, Kay says “We plan to build our own biorefinery to develop a material called PHA, a marine-degradable and compostable material that will allow us to bring down costs for the consumer and increase our manufacturing volumes to cater to a larger global customer base.” 

From sugarcane agriwaste to recycled paper replacing bubble wrap, innovations featured in Springwise’s library showcase the many ways in which technology and material science is reducing demand for single use plastics.  

Written By: Keely Khoury