Outlander Materials

Outlander Materials transforms food waste streams into Unplastic, an alternative for single use plastics.

Outlander Materials has revolutionized waste management by converting food waste streams into Unplastic, a sustainable substitute for single-use plastics. Behind this innovation is Lori Goff, the company's founder and CEO. From her earliest memories, Lori has been driven by an unwavering commitment to the environment. This passion took root during her childhood when she was captivated by "Captain Planet", an animated superhero championing against pollution. A particular takeaway from the show that resonated with Lori was the call to individual action against environmental degradation. “At the end of each episode, he would turn to the viewer and talk about what you as an individual could do against pollution. That has always stuck with me.” Lori's academic pursuits in biotechnology initially led her towards biodiesel production from used cooking oil. However, a move to the Netherlands in 2015 set her on a transformative journey. While exploring the realm of beer brewing, she made a startling discovery about the vast waste generated from food production. “While looking for biodiesel jobs, I started to teach myself to brew beer as a hobby and dove deep into that. While speaking with some micro breweries around Utrecht, I learned there’s this massive amount of waste coming from food production and that there was something we could do with this.” Connecting the dots, Lori envisioned harnessing this waste for biotechnological applications to create a novel material. In 2018 Lori started a collaboration with the beer brewers from Vet & Lazy in the BlueCity lab, diving deep into the intricacies of food production waste. Working with the high sugar fractions that come out of multiple types of food production, she also found this high sugar liquid in beer brewery which can be used for Unplastic. The material bridges the gap between paper and conventional plastic. “There are no petrochemicals, no toxic additives, no microplastics. It’s more functional than paper, it’s soft and flexible. We want to use it as an alternative for single use flexible packaging: for all sorts of retail products and some foods like candy and dry pasta. A big plus: Unplastic is fully compostable.”

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Questions & challenges

The journey has not been without its hurdles. Currently, Lori and her team are striving to establish a pilot production facility to answer clients’ increasing demands. “With the Circular Factory program we want to figure out how to optimize this pilot production.” Lori acknowledges that while funding remains a formidable challenge, they must also anticipate and overcome unforeseen hurdles. Insights into aspects like engineering designs, concealed costs, and navigating the labyrinthine journey from lab to pilot stage are invaluable. “Transitioning from a linear to a circular model is non-negotiable for a sustainable future. The path is fraught with obstacles, but I hope the program will act as a guiding light, illuminating our path forward.”

The future

What Lori envisions in their post program future? “After the program I hope we have the perfect planning in place so when the day comes that the funding is there, we can immediately start with production. Looking further ahead, I envision wrapping up the demo plant within five years. By then, I hope we will be charting the course for industrial production and possibly forging licensing agreements with major packaging corporations.”

News

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