PLASTIC BECAME
Plastic was once considered an irreplaceable material that improves people’s quality of life. Now plastic has become a problem to which we are frantically trying to find a solution. Wood is one of the most promising replacements for plastic. The goal is to recycle plastic more effectively and replace it with wood fibre when suitable. A PROBLEM – IS WOOD THE SOLUTION?
ANNA GUSTAFSSON, photos SAMI VALLIUS, PAPTIC, PETRI LYYTIKÄINEN, SHUTTERSTOCK
There is no buzzer or doorbell to be found in the wall of the low brick building located in the courtyard of this office complex. The janitor who happens to pass by opens the door a little hesitantly, given that it is, after all, risky to let a stranger in to a building where people are working on a revolutionary, patented invention. The innovation is called Paptic, and it aims to resolve the entire world’s plastic bag problems, at least for starters. A production unit roughly the size of a small paper ma- chine can be found on the first floor of the office space, clearly past its prime. The machine is pushing out a wood- based, papery material made using the foam forming method, where in addition to water, air is mixed into the paper pulp. Esa Torniainen , one of Paptic’s founders, goes in search of an unoccupied space for our interview. The corridor of the office is lined with cardboard boxes full of bro- chures, samples and specimens. Finding a free space proves challenging, since each office is occupied by one of the company’s 15 employees. Finally we find a small space in the corner of an office the size of a cleaning cupboard, in which an old chair has been re-purposed as a table. This start-up, which managed to secure more than a million euros from investors during its first round of funding, has made a full-on investment in product development instead of impressive office premises.
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