New York City, U.S.A.-based Re-Nuble, which repurposes organic waste nutrients for use in indoor farms, has partnered with Santa Cruz, California, U.S.A.-based start-up CruzFoam to reduce seafood waste.
CruzFoam utilizes shrimp shell byproduct to create packaging. The two companies' collaboration will introduce seafood waste in to the Re-Nuble production cycle. Re-Nuble has a goal of upcycling apportion of an annual approximation of 1.3 billion MT.
“We felt [CruzFoam] would be a good partner because they’re very aligned from a circularity perspective,” Re-Nuble Founder and CEO Tinia Pina said.
Re-Nuble has a 6,300-square-foot manufacturing facility which has the capacity to produce 50,000 gallons monthly of growing media. The company conducts direct sales to indoor farms, greenhouses, and vertical farms, as well as selling to retailers.
In December 2021, Re-Nuble raised seed funding to expand new types of waste as a part of a growth strategy. Working with CruzFoam will provide seafood specific access – in particular, shellfish incorporated in their waste steams to expand product lines.
Pina said benefits of the polysaccharide chitin in shellfish and insects’ exoskeletons can boost pest and disease resilience in the plants.
The CruzFoam partnership will be a pathway to Re-Nuble accessibility to a larger market in the agrifood sector.
“While several grow-media options exist for indoor growers, the industry lacks a truly sustainable form of grow-media,” Pina said. “There is an urgent and dire need to develop a fully compostable grow-media solution.”
The goal of the partnership is to eliminate dependency on potentially environmentally hazardous process such as peat harvesting and increase the availability of more sustainable options, the companies said.
Photo courtesy of Re-Nuble
