Sharon Barak’s Solutum: A Mission to Weed Out Plastic

An American athlete, Ben Zobrist once quoted, ‘Each new day has a different shape to it. You just roll with it.’

In our world today, every day, new inventions are being born. These latest advancements are made possible due to change in the wit of human beings.

The 19^th century was the time of mankind’s greatest inventions including the steam engine, the telegraph, rifles, and the light bulb, among many others. Although these were extremely beneficial for the world, as these made the lives better, easier, and more connected, they also brought about the invention of plastic (Parkesine) in 1862.

Plastic is one of the most used products worldwide and, perhaps, one of the most detrimental ones to the environment. Though it has various purposes and is easy to use, its impact on the environment, marine life, and wildlife is disastrous. According to the World Health Organisation,

• Every minute, 1 million plastic bottles are sold all over the world
• Each year, 8 million tons of plastic garbage is dumped in oceans
• Almost half of the plastic that we use is disposable or single use only
• 500 billion plastic bags are used by the world every year

In 2018, the United Nations published a report titled Single-use Plastics: A Roadmap for Sustainability. It aims at establishing a benchmark for countries to take up steps against the global problem of plastics. While many countries like India and the UK and many organizations across the world are busy tackling this problem of plastic pollution, many individuals too have fastened their seat belts to bring in change at their individual levels.

One such inspiring person is Sharon Barak, CEO, and co-founder of Solutum. She is a Jewish woman based in Israel and is using her chemical engineering degree to bring a positive change in the world. The aim of her company is to develop innovative and biodegradable new raw materials to replace plastic.

Sharon’s Solution to the Problem

Sharon has now made it her mission to find a solution to the deadly use of plastic. After years of research and study, she has finally developed a product that is a great replacement for plastic.

According to her, the product isn’t plastic but it feels and looks the same. This new generation of plastic is biodegradable, as it dissolves completely when kept in water. The conventional plastic, on the other hand, stays the same. What makes it a mind-boggling invention is the fact that it has a self-decomposing character, making it one of the greatest inventions of the 21^st century.

Characteristics of Solutum’s Biodegradable Product

• It is an environmentally friendly product.
• After it is dissolved in water, the water is still safe to drink.
• It can be used for making the packaging of all kind of products.
• Solutum can be used for anything. Right from packaging of food and beverages to everything that our traditional plastic is used for, Solutum is a perfect replacement for plastic.

In short, it is a product that looks like plastic, functions like plastics, but it is not plastic.

Isn’t that amazing? What do you think?