The startup Boostani (Swahili: sustainability) develops plastic material solutions that simplify recycling and reduce the amount of plastic needed in a packaging while keeping the unique properties of plastics like barriers against bacteria (fresh food packaging) and low weight (energy savings in transport). Boostani was founded by Margareta Merke who is a PhD candidate at Aachen Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM) at Maastricht University and she joins the incubation program of the Brightlands Innovation factory as well.
Margareta Merke studied plastic material science at RWTH Aachen University. Before she started her PhD at Maastricht University, she spent a year in Tanzania where she gained first experience in founding a startup. Her first successful company, SolarGrid Tanzania Ltd. sells solar systems to private households in rural areas in Tanzania.
Margareta Merke during a marketing campaign for her first startup SolarGrid Tanzania Ltd.
The idea for Boostani formed during her time in Tanzania: Old plastic bottles and fishing nets were washed ashore every day. Margareta Merke became more and more convinced that a long-term solution against plastic waste is finally needed. The long-term consequences of plastic waste are one of the biggest challenges in this century. The amount of plastic material
increases dramatically worldwide due to an increasing middle class and more single households who have high demands for goods. This leads to a plastic packaging waste of 250 million tons per year – an incredibly huge amount when considering the low weight of plastics.
Cleaning the oceans from plastics is one option but it rather fights the symptoms, not the causes. Therefore, Boostani aims at reducing the amount of plastic materials already in the production line. Plastic converting companies could reduce their costs for material up to 30 % because with Boostani material 30 % of the currently needed amount of plastic can be saved. Moreover, Boostani material can be easily recycled so that plastic material is not as harmful as it is nowadays.
After her time in Tanzania, Margareta Merke came back to Europe to find for partners for her idea to develop more sustainable plastic compounds for packaging. This led her to AMIBM where she was offered a PhD position to combine the research questions with entrepreneurial ambitions. She received further support from the Brightlands Innovation Factory who provides strategies for business development.
Boostani founder Margareta Merke presenting her idea on Get out of the Building Event.
Not only is the field of business development well covered on Campus for startups like Boostani but also the field of research. First experiments could already be conducted on Campus due to cooperating with Chemelot Innovation and Learning Labs (CHILL). A strong basis in networking is built as well because Boostani is an official member of the Industry Research Club at AMIBM and member of Brightlands Business Club.
The startup Boostani is a perfect example of how the ecosystem of Brightlands Chemelot Campus can support in networking, research and business development. This facilitates and accelerates the process from idea to market entrance dramatically for young companies like Boostani.
Companies in the plastic industry are very interested in the material solution by Boostani. The costs for material are the biggest factor when producing plastic packaging. Boostani material saves material in packaging, is therefore more
sustainable and more affordable so that a long-term value for plastic producers exists.
As soon as the plastic material by Boostani is commercially available, the plastic waste challenge might not be completely solved but a huge step has then been taken into a sustainable future. The story of Boostani as well as contact details for feedback and potential business collaborations can be also found online under www.boostani.info.
