This alien plant, lethal for the environment is being turned into a plastic to regrow forests

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🗞️ Driving the news: Kenyan company HyaPak Ecotech Limited has developed a biodegradable plastic made from invasive water hyacinth plants to address plastic pollution and environmental degradation
• The innovation provides eco-friendly alternatives for packaging and tree seedling bags while mitigating the destructive effects of water hyacinths on ecosystems like Kenya's Lake Naivasha
• Founder Joseph Nguthiru is collaborating with the Kenyan government to support a national reforestation program

🔭 The context: Water hyacinths, introduced globally as ornamental plants, now dominate freshwater ecosystems, suffocating aquatic life and disrupting local economies
• The plant's rapid spread costs the global economy over $700 million annually and particularly affects African communities reliant on fishing and agriculture
• HyaPak’s biodegradable products gained recognition at COP28 and other global forums, attracting attention for scalable solutions

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: HyaPak’s bioplastic reduces reliance on single-use plastics while repurposing an invasive species, addressing two environmental crises simultaneously
• The seedling bags also support Kenya's reforestation drive, which aims to plant 15 billion trees by 2032, crucial for combating deforestation and climate change

⏭️ What's next: HyaPak plans to scale operations with government and international partnerships, potentially exporting to India and El Salvador, both affected by water hyacinth
• Expansion depends on funding to increase plant harvesting and production capacity, with ambitions to open-source the technology for global adoption

💬 One quote: “We are the ones who are going to live with a planet that’s beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius … It’s up to my generation to come up with solutions for the climate crisis,” - Joseph Nguthiru, HyaPak founder

📈 One stat: Kenya lost 14% of its tree cover between 2001 and 2023, and plans to restore over 30% of its land by 2032

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