These Surfing Engineers Are Saving the Planet, One Pea Starch Foam Sheet at a Time

In the sunny surf town of Santa Cruz, a group of radical biomaterials engineers are waging war against single-use plastics – and they’re doing it with pea starch. 🌱
From Surfboards to Sustainability
Cruz Foam isn’t just another tech startup. Founded by ocean-loving engineers who were literally “riding trash” on petroleum-based surfboards, this company is transforming how we think about packaging. Their secret weapon? A biodegradable foam made from pea starch that could potentially rescue our planet from microplastic apocalypse.
Breaking the Plastic Cycle
Imagine packaging that dissolves in weeks instead of lingering in our oceans for centuries. That’s exactly what Cruz Foam is delivering. With celebrity investors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Ashton Kutcher backing their mission, they’re proving that sustainable solutions can be both environmentally friendly and commercially viable.
The Future is Organic
What started as a wild idea in a windowless university basement has now become a game-changing technology. From caviar shipping to potential medical applications, Cruz Foam is showing that innovative materials can emerge from the most unexpected places – like surplus pea starch from imitation meat production.
The future isn’t about creating more waste; it’s about reimagining how we interact with materials. And these Santa Cruz engineers are leading the charge, one biodegradable foam sheet at a time.
AUTHOR: mp
SOURCE: The Mercury News