Healthcare awash in a plastic profit. In US health care facilities only, More than 2,800 tons In plastic packages and products are expelled daily.

Just a few people know about it than Eddie Yu. Early in the pandemic, Yu built a company that makes masks available. One day, his nephew was with him as he recycled, and he asked him if his mask was also recyclable.

“I told her we never recycled the mask,” she told the techcrunch. “He was just wounded, and said, ‘Oh, then make a lot of trash every day.’

The words of the little girl were tied to yu, and then sold the masked company in 2021, she went out to change.

In an effort to shield a use of plastic health problem, Yu’s new company, Oekosixdeveloped a new bio-based bio, biodegradable polymer. Okosix is ​​a part of Battle startand it will be delivered to Techcrunch rough Later this month in San Francisco.

Okosix mixes different compounds including cellulose, chitosan derived from crustacean shells, wax, and a proprietary material. The result is cheaper than polylactic acid (pla), a widely used biodegradable plastic, with “equal or better or better than pla,” Yu said.

Among the plastics, the term “biodegradableability” is always wrong, Yu said. Others require very specific conditions to decay, while others cannot be changed to micro- or nanoplasts.

“We have international certifications to prove that the material is completely lost in six months,” says Yu.

Okosix began to face masks, but it plans to make surgical gowns, diapers, and sanitary napkins, said Yu. “We want to use a safe material, not plastic, to replace plastic fossils for products available.”

Although the company has not yet created a formal lifecycle analysis, Yu said that Okosix’s material should have a carbon footprint of 90% lower than polypropylene, a widely used plastic used.

Okosix sells its material to third parties, then make these different products. “So far, our business model is like Gore-Tex,” Yu said. “We don’t make finished products, but we do the layer, we make the raw material, and then we work with companies like 3m.” He added that branding can be an important part of business, similar to Gore-Tex.

Starting raises $ 2.3 million, including investments from founders and other investors in angels.

Listen to more from okosix and twelve other starts itself, engage in valuable workshops, and make lasting connections with Big yearoccurred on October 27 to 29 in San Francisco.