Climate tech startup Great Wrap is now producing compostable pallet wrap

Melbourne-based material science company, Great Wrap, has launched the world’s first compostable pallet wrap. 

The alternative to plastic wrap is made with food waste to combat the global dependence on petroleum-based pallet wrap and plastic pollution. 

Cofounders Jordy Kay and Julia Kay saw a materials revolution happening around them. Everything industry from energy, transport, and agriculture was changing rapidly, yet, plastic remained the same. 

They knew the technology to end plastic waste existed, but there weren’t any products on the market for them to use. And that’s when Great Wrap was born. 

The company’s plant in Tullamarine will make 5,000 tonnes of compostable stretch wrap this year and 20,000 tonnes by 2025. 

This will make them Australia’s largest stretch wrap manufacturer and significantly decrease the need to import plastic wraps from other parts of the world. 

Pallet Wrap

Over 100,000 tonnes of stretch wrap ends up in landfill each year. Pallet wrap is the connector of all businesses and a critical part of the global supply chain. 

Millions of pallets are wrapped to transport goods daily, and only a few facilities can recycle petroleum-based pallet wrap, which means 90% ends up in landfills. 

Great Wrap is home compostable, it can decrease Australia’s carbon footprint by over 100,000 tonnes annually and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

This latest innovation can solve plastic pollution issues as it can be repurposed to create new materials and returned to the soil to improve the quality of agricultural land. 

Jordy said they’ve completed commercial trials with major Australian retailers, food and beverage manufacturers, and household name brands.

“Their feedback is consistent — Great Wrap performs as well as petroleum-based pallet wrap. We’re calling on all Australian business owners to switch because the high-quality product means the only shift is where they purchase it,” he said. 

Julia said the company had had a huge demand building over the past three years from businesses far and wide.

“Most businesses, whether you know it or not, use petroleum-based pallet wrap to send and receive their goods. This product is unavoidable, it is essential, and it’s a global problem that we are solving,” she said.  

Great Wrap’s vision extends beyond producing a compostable and eco-friendly substitute for industrial plastic wrap. Along with producing Compostable Pallet Wrap, the company is also developing its own pallet wrap collection service.