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Welcome to Daddy's Podcast. This is the Redefining
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Plastics Podcast. Welcome to the Redefining Plastics
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Podcast. My name's Justin Riney. Got a guest
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today, Camillo Farro with Rawz. We're going
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to talk a little bit about new technologies and
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new outlets for plastics. So Camillo, welcome
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to the show. Why don't you tell the folks a little
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bit about yourself, who you are, and what is
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Rawz? Yeah, excellent. Thank you. Thank you,
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Justin, for having me on today and giving us
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the space to talk about this innovative technology.
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As Justin mentioned, my name is Camilo Farrow,
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and I am part of the ROS team. ROS technology
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is a brand new technology. We just received a
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U .S. patent at the end of 2022, and the technology
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stands for returns to air, water, and soil. And
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to summarize, essentially what the technology
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does is we chemically change plastics. When the
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plastic is no longer going to serve its purpose
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in this usage, and it's not going to be recycled,
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and it's going to go to a landfill, we're chemically
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changing the plastic. So it's a technology that
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gets added to the plastic pre -extrusion. It
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can be injection molded. It can be thermal forming.
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It can be blown film. Any way we're going to
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make a plastic, you add the technology to the
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plastic. And when that plastic is now being converted
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to a plastic bag, a diaper, any of the best usages
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that we have for plastics, that product will
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be a hundred percent biodegradable. That's in
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short what the technology is. And obviously we'll
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go dive a little bit deeper into it. Yeah. Cause
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I got a ton of questions, right? The first thing
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I hear when I hear anything like that, I think
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oxodegradable, I think just breaking material
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down into smaller pieces. So ultimately you're
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talking about taking it back to Like biomass,
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right? That's what we're talking about. Like
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that's all that's left. Like there's no polymer
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left at the end of the day. That's exactly what
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happens, Justin. And thank you for bringing up
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the oxal degradable because that's always a conversation.
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Naturally, we have day in and day out. The technology,
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one, we don't fragment the plastic. So we're
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not breaking plastic apart where all of a sudden
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you end up with microplastics. We're diving into
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the actual chemistry of a plastic. where we're
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chemically changing the plastic. So we are breaking
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it down from your polymer, lowering the molecular
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weight down to a monomer and the process continues
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to go to eventually what remains would be this
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biomass or ketone and aldehyde that are all part
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of the carbonyl group. And that's what we do
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as the technology does. So is this like a free
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radical system or you want to talk a little bit
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about whatever you're comfortable with sharing?
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Do you want to talk a little bit about the technology
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and maybe how it works without divulging any
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proprietary information, obviously? Yeah, no,
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no, no, of course. So we utilize a thermal degradation
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pathway. So we use free radicals. You know that
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we utilize the free radicals to start depolymerizing
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that polymer. The big difference between us and
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also degradable technologies or even some of
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the technologies like enzyme mediated technologies
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is where we will work aerobically and anaerobically.
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And we don't need the oxygen nor the enzymes
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to start biodegrading the plastic. We only need
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two components to this is thermal, but we need
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at least 77 degrees Fahrenheit, which is pretty
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warm. And when we look at landfill temperatures,
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across first world countries and properly maintain
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landfills, for the audience to know, it's anywhere
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between 90 degrees Fahrenheit and all the way
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up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. So the heat in
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the landfill is a fairy eye up. So the technology,
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as long as we have 77 degrees Fahrenheit and
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some humidity, technology is going to get activated.
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We're going to start attracting those few radicals
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and going to start depolymerizing the plastic.
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What about the before? If you're making a bag.
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and you're walking around, it's 77 degrees outside,
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is that going to start depalmerizing while you're
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walking? What's to protect that product before
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it hits the window when you want it to start
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to break down? Like when it gets into a landfill?
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Because obviously my goal is to keep it out of
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landfill. And I don't think you're advocating
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for putting stuff into a landfill. You're just
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saying that if it's going to end up in a landfill,
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Let's have this stuff in there, so it breaks
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it down, so it just becomes biomass, so it's
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natural at the end of its life cycle. That's
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correct, Justin. We want recycling. Obviously,
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we want recycling to continue to take place.
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But we're aware that a lot of these plastics,
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one, don't get recycled or don't end up in the
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proper recycling stream. And where do they end
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up? They're going to end up in a landfill. So
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in that scenario, when that happens... you have
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a technology now when it does end up in a landfill
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is going to completely degrade, not leaving any
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microclastics behind leaching out into the potential
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environment. Back to your earlier question on
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kind of how do we stop it from me walking around
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from a grocery store or it's starting to rain
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and all of a sudden the bag completely rips on
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us. Happened last night with the wife and I,
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we had some Chipotle and some of the salsa was
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going into our paper bag. We got out of the car.
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Disaster. Chipotle ball all over the place. My
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wife's Quesadillas are on the street. A mess.
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So we want to avoid that. Paper bags are the
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worst for food takeout. I cannot with paper bags
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for food takeout. It was a disaster. But knowing
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that, to avoid that, what we do with the technology
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is we have a stall date. So we're able to create
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the technology to give us a stall date between
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six months all the way up to four years. And
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we have some customers now that have asked us
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to start testing it up to six years. So the technology
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won't get activated plus or minus three months
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from that stall date. Follow -up point to this,
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how do we do that? We're able to adjust it with
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proprietary UV blockers and thermal blockers
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for the technology, depending on where the product
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is going to end up. And those will start to break
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down over time. I'm assuming it's a master batch.
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So as that master batch starts to break down
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over time, then that UV protection will then
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be gone, right? And then it will start the process.
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So that's - From a high level, very unscientifically,
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that's what we're talking about. I want to make
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sure everybody understands what we're saying
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here. Very high level. That's the way it works
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with live testing that we've done. Like for example,
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mulch film. We know mulch film. issue with plastic
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mulch film, how much we needed for our crops,
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right? We need it, we can get away from it. But
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we also know that a big problem with that is
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the mulch film that ends up lasting in the farm
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once the crop has grown. We have been very successful
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in adjusting the film to last different temperature
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ranges and different time ranges based on the
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actual crop that's needed. And we're able to
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do this by also adjusting some of the UV blockers.
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seen at that 10, 11 hours under the sun, we're
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adjusting it accordingly based on what the customer
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and the crop yield is needed. You guys running
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into anybody challenging you on this, like pushing
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back saying, hey, that's going to be microplastics
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or are you running into any of that? Because
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that's the first thing that I think of. And I
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actually know more about this than most. And
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I can only imagine. if you're talking to regulators
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or you're talking to brands, that's going to
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be the first thing that's going to pop into their
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brain. Oh, yeah. Yes. A little background, Justin,
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on the technology too. The technology, it's been
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around now since 2018. The technology was first
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created in 2018. We applied for the patents in
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2020 and then we started getting the patents
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in 2022. So we now have approximately five years
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of testing data and scientific data that verifies
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that no microplastics remain. And that is naturally
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the biggest concern when we first got into the
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technology. How do we actually prove this? You're
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telling us that you're eliminating microplastics,
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but give us the data. Show me the science that
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actually tells me that this is what you have.
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And that's what we've been able to do. Okay.
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So as you know, as far as non -microplastic verification,
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that it is still fairly newer in the world of
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people understanding what it is and then how
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it's going to our brains, our lungs, et cetera.
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There's very few testing protocols and processes
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to follow. The one that is very prominent is
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an ISO standard. An ISO standard called 24187.
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It's so new, it just got finalized at the end
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of 2023. And we follow those specific ISO standards
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that verify no microplastics remain. Now, they
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utilize some of the standard machines you're
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going to be aware of, and some of your audience
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is going to be aware of, like an STIR, GSMC,
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a GPC, and different spectrometry range machines,
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for lack of a better scientific word. So we do
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follow those ISO standards. And we do take it
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one step further and we have partnered up with
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Northern Illinois University to continue to follow
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up and test these remnants that verify no microplastics
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remain. There's so many different ways we can
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go with this conversation. But I think the one
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thing that always comes back from like a packaging
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perspective is what does this do to performance
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on any kind of application. So if I'm making
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a plastic bag, we've talked about that a couple
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times. Is that going to degrade the performance?
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Am I going to have the same kind of tear resistance?
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Am I going to have the same kind of strength?
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Because I'm assuming it's a very low letdown.
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And letdown for those that don't know that's
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the amount of percentage that you're going to
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put this product in in a blend to make the finished
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product. But my assumption is that there's really
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no property changes that are gonna be to the
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finished product because you're gonna put it
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in at such a low percentage. But have you checked
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that? Have you done any kind of testing to see
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if there's any kind of change from a property
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perspective? Justin, that's correct. It's a 1
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% lead down that gets added to the three types
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of plastic we currently work with. So we currently
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work with polypropylene, polyethylene. and any
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of the derivatives to the olefin family. And
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then we work with PET, and it's all at a 1 %
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letdown. It does not affect any of the characteristics,
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tensile strength, coloring of the plastic during
00:11:16.460 --> 00:11:18.779
that process. The only time you're going to start
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seeing the effects is once we've started to degrade
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the actual product itself. Before the degradation,
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you won't see any effects of the technology.
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Just to give you an idea and for the audience
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that's looking at us visually, if you're hearing
00:11:33.809 --> 00:11:35.950
us, you won't be able to see this, but just to
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give you an idea on the technology itself. So
00:11:38.029 --> 00:11:42.009
this was a seven layer fruit cup that was created
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in June of 2022. And then you can see closely,
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I'll try to apply it into as much as a camera.
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The technology has already been activated. So
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we're chemically changing the plastic. You can
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notice the cracking that's starting to take place
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on the cup. But more importantly than the cracking,
00:11:59.490 --> 00:12:03.710
that's important, but this is seven layers. The
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layers are starting to ship apart. Now, this
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was done almost three years ago, and it was in
00:12:10.889 --> 00:12:13.789
our office with over 77 degrees Fahrenheit, and
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it's starting to do its job. If the fruit cup
00:12:17.490 --> 00:12:20.490
was in distribution, it was in its closed box
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while it was going through the process, you wouldn't
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see any changes to the product until it needs
00:12:25.830 --> 00:12:29.419
to start doing it. So my background is in films
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So I'm curious have you looked at adding this
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technology into any kind of bond layers like
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between like a multi -layer flexible film where
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then they could start to break apart at the end
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of life because Just you pulling that apart right
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there was like maybe we can find a way to like
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break these films back into their Their different
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structures because you know mono films great
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I like the idea, but there are some applications
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that high density polyethylene is not there yet.
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So we can't do like the same kind of barrier
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that we need. So maybe there's a way to take
00:13:09.110 --> 00:13:11.470
this kind of technology and have the layers break
00:13:11.470 --> 00:13:15.009
apart at the end to make recycling easier. Is
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this something you've looked into at all? We'd
00:13:17.149 --> 00:13:19.450
have to. We've looked into multi -layer packaging
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and we can completely break down multi -layer
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packaging. that's similar to the fruit cup that
00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:29.000
I showed. We have done packaging in the past
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for 7 -Eleven in Hong Kong, a multi -layer packaging
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for 7 -Eleven, so natural EBOH and BOPP. And
00:13:36.460 --> 00:13:39.019
here in the States, we do have some commitments
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from a fairly large CPG company that's starting
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to trial out some of the BOPP packaging with
00:13:45.580 --> 00:13:51.000
multi -layer spore them. As far as breaking down
00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:53.799
that polymer, and then utilizing some of the
00:13:53.799 --> 00:13:56.960
monomers back to what chemical recycling could
00:13:56.960 --> 00:13:59.200
do. That'd be some of the testing that we'd have
00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:01.179
to go down the path, which we haven't done. I
00:14:01.179 --> 00:14:04.679
was just curious. These are things that pop into
00:14:04.679 --> 00:14:07.720
my brain when I see people pull layers apart.
00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:10.600
Oh yeah. Well, you're in the industry, right?
00:14:10.600 --> 00:14:13.460
And you see this day in and day out. So you get
00:14:13.460 --> 00:14:15.960
the fresh ability to brainstorm or come up with
00:14:15.960 --> 00:14:20.139
different ideas on how we can do this. One of
00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:22.059
the important points that I'd like to bring up,
00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:25.200
and we mentioned recycling, the technology does
00:14:25.200 --> 00:14:28.259
not affect your recycling stream. So if you are
00:14:28.259 --> 00:14:31.000
going to utilize recycling, if you want to use,
00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:34.480
let's say a t -shirt bag or a recycled polypropylene
00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:37.159
container, and it's got the technology in it,
00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:39.720
when that container goes to the recycling system,
00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:43.639
it can still be recycled. Is it burned off? Do
00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:47.360
you have to repelatize it though? If you wanted
00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:50.799
to re -add raw material to the recycled pellet,
00:14:51.100 --> 00:14:53.879
yes, you would have to add that 1%. It does burn
00:14:53.879 --> 00:14:56.580
it off because of the heat of recycling. It's
00:14:56.580 --> 00:14:59.740
going to completely dilute the additive away,
00:14:59.899 --> 00:15:02.860
and it's at that 1 % let down. So we melt it
00:15:02.860 --> 00:15:05.320
completely. So as long as it's re -extruded at
00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:07.600
some point, so if it's being made back into another
00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:09.340
bag, it's going to have to go through an extruder
00:15:09.340 --> 00:15:11.539
again. And you're saying the temperature within
00:15:11.539 --> 00:15:15.889
the extruder is going to burn off the... additive
00:15:15.889 --> 00:15:19.909
that would break down, so then you can recycle
00:15:19.909 --> 00:15:22.669
it, so you don't have to worry about it contaminating
00:15:22.669 --> 00:15:24.830
recycle streams. Because that would have been
00:15:24.830 --> 00:15:28.129
one of my next questions. It's like, how does
00:15:28.129 --> 00:15:31.570
this impact something that we want to make circular?
00:15:32.649 --> 00:15:35.169
For some reason, it ends up in the recycle stream.
00:15:35.470 --> 00:15:37.649
I want to make sure that that recycled product's
00:15:37.649 --> 00:15:41.649
not breaking down in two weeks, because there's
00:15:41.649 --> 00:15:43.799
some kind of additive in there. The temperature
00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:46.259
that we're melting or reciting polypropylene
00:15:46.259 --> 00:15:50.379
P polyacrylamide PET is so high. It just melts
00:15:50.379 --> 00:15:53.200
the technology away. And then once you have that
00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:56.220
recycled resin, if you wanted to, let's say back
00:15:56.220 --> 00:16:00.000
to your 30 % recycled resin, 70 % virgin, if
00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:02.759
you wanted to make that plastic again, completely
00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:06.279
biodegradable. you would add that 1 % raws to
00:16:06.279 --> 00:16:08.360
it to continue that process again. Where are
00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:14.799
you guys at on scale, production? Is this all
00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:20.460
lab work? Are you currently commercial? Kind
00:16:20.460 --> 00:16:23.220
of give us a little breakdown on a status of
00:16:23.220 --> 00:16:26.399
where you're at today as far as a company. Yeah,
00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:28.480
as far as a company goes, so we launched into
00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:33.100
the US marketplace approximately 2023. soft launch
00:16:33.100 --> 00:16:34.980
and then really had an aggressive push into the
00:16:34.980 --> 00:16:38.700
market in 2024. Once we received all of our different
00:16:38.700 --> 00:16:40.919
data that we needed, excuse me, in scientific
00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:44.620
verification, we got into a major grocery store
00:16:44.620 --> 00:16:47.539
in the Northeast where they were using some of
00:16:47.539 --> 00:16:49.419
our produce bags and their technology was in
00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:51.899
the produce bags. And then from there, we started
00:16:51.899 --> 00:16:54.320
having conversations with some Fortune 500s,
00:16:54.440 --> 00:16:57.460
Fortune 1000 companies, both on the brand side
00:16:57.460 --> 00:17:02.019
and on the resin side. And today we do have a
00:17:02.019 --> 00:17:04.039
couple of large organizations that are testing
00:17:04.039 --> 00:17:09.339
out non -woven polypropylene for diapers. Diapers
00:17:09.339 --> 00:17:11.640
being, for example, a perfect solution for this
00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:13.900
type of technology. You're not going to recycle
00:17:13.900 --> 00:17:16.460
a diaper. You're not going to recycle a diaper.
00:17:16.819 --> 00:17:18.559
And we look at one of the contents of diapers,
00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:22.740
polyethylene and polypropylene. So we can complete,
00:17:22.839 --> 00:17:24.759
break that down. So we have a large brand that's
00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:29.099
currently testing the non -woven. uh right now
00:17:29.099 --> 00:17:31.200
with the technology and really good news we're
00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:33.099
getting some great results on the biodegrade
00:17:33.099 --> 00:17:36.400
degradation already on anaerobically uh so that's
00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:39.680
exciting mentioned earlier we do have a cpg company
00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:42.440
that's committed to start testing on their product
00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:45.700
as well and then we're finally finalizing some
00:17:45.700 --> 00:17:48.000
other testing with some other food service items
00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:52.220
uh and hardware items as well uh so we're we're
00:17:52.220 --> 00:17:55.839
definitely generating momentum gaining traction
00:17:56.109 --> 00:17:58.829
Um, and more importantly, we just received our
00:17:58.829 --> 00:18:01.970
last, our latest testing result that proves,
00:18:01.990 --> 00:18:06.829
uh, a 0 .5 mm plastic sheet. So that's a pretty
00:18:06.829 --> 00:18:11.150
thick piece of plastic. And aerobically, we degraded
00:18:11.150 --> 00:18:16.230
it, uh, in 996 days. Okay. Complete degradation,
00:18:16.630 --> 00:18:20.670
99 .62 CO2 release. Uh, no methane was released.
00:18:20.710 --> 00:18:23.349
The only methane that came out. of the testing
00:18:23.349 --> 00:18:27.150
was based on the soil that was used as an oculum.
00:18:27.730 --> 00:18:30.009
Where my mind goes, because I'm a home composter.
00:18:30.569 --> 00:18:34.349
Is this something that if my home compost is
00:18:34.349 --> 00:18:39.390
hot enough, it will break down over time? But
00:18:39.390 --> 00:18:44.910
I'm guessing, so I'm not in a tropical climate,
00:18:44.990 --> 00:18:49.009
obviously, so it's not 77 plus degrees year round.
00:18:51.689 --> 00:18:54.410
is in there in the summer, and then it gets cold
00:18:54.410 --> 00:18:56.490
in the winter, what does that do? Does it just
00:18:56.490 --> 00:18:58.990
stop the process, and then once it gets warm
00:18:58.990 --> 00:19:02.069
again, then the process begins again? I guess
00:19:02.069 --> 00:19:03.650
these are the kind of questions that I have,
00:19:03.710 --> 00:19:05.529
because if I wanted to take something like that
00:19:05.529 --> 00:19:08.210
and home compost it, I don't like the idea of
00:19:08.210 --> 00:19:11.690
it taking 900 some odd days, but, you know, like,
00:19:12.170 --> 00:19:14.849
let's just say I wanted to. Is that something
00:19:14.849 --> 00:19:17.569
that you've tested? Is that possible? Yeah, so
00:19:17.569 --> 00:19:20.009
on the home compost -y side, kudos, I'm a home
00:19:20.009 --> 00:19:22.759
composter as well. love composting and actually
00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:24.960
kudos to all the community composters. Cause
00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:26.700
you look at the folks that are picking up the
00:19:26.700 --> 00:19:29.039
compost from our buckets. You know, I'm calling
00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:31.279
them from the city of Chicago. I'm in the middle
00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:34.480
of the city and I'm able to compost day in and
00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:36.720
day out. So, and it's really small businesses
00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:38.380
that are going around there and picking up the
00:19:38.380 --> 00:19:41.559
composting. So kudos to them. But yeah, so back
00:19:41.559 --> 00:19:43.799
to your earlier question, not to go into composting
00:19:43.799 --> 00:19:47.480
too much. But yeah, technically the product will
00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:51.180
compost. in your home compost and in an industrial
00:19:51.180 --> 00:19:53.579
compost, because we're doing the same process
00:19:53.579 --> 00:19:56.400
that a poly, a PLA product is going to go through,
00:19:56.640 --> 00:19:59.079
right? Once that process of degradation happens,
00:19:59.539 --> 00:20:02.220
we're changing the chemistry. That's simply what
00:20:02.220 --> 00:20:04.819
we're doing. We're changing chemistry. So because
00:20:04.819 --> 00:20:06.940
we're changing the chemistry and de -polymerizing
00:20:06.940 --> 00:20:09.900
it, that piece of plastic will compost in your
00:20:09.900 --> 00:20:12.480
home compost or your industrial. It's just not
00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:14.200
going to get it at the time that you want it.
00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:20.000
When you look at ASTM or BPI, they tell you 90
00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.319
% within 180 days in their facilities. The technology
00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:26.859
is not meant to do that. We're meant to have
00:20:26.859 --> 00:20:29.900
a longer shelf life for products that we know,
00:20:29.980 --> 00:20:32.940
one, are really never meant to be composted in
00:20:32.940 --> 00:20:35.500
the first place. And then two, that are not going
00:20:35.500 --> 00:20:39.019
to get composted. Those are the products that
00:20:39.019 --> 00:20:41.259
we know we want to really work with because they
00:20:41.259 --> 00:20:44.319
don't have other solutions out there. I like
00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:47.599
looking for new solutions for things that don't
00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:50.839
happen today. How did you get into this? So coming
00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:53.220
back to composting, I've been in the packaging
00:20:53.220 --> 00:20:57.019
industry since 2009. I started a composting bag
00:20:57.019 --> 00:21:01.059
business. Okay. So back in 2009, 2010, that was
00:21:01.059 --> 00:21:04.960
really composting and compostables were barely
00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:07.900
ever being talked about, right? So I was just,
00:21:07.900 --> 00:21:10.720
I was closing up an old business that I had with
00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:15.109
the economy turning in 2009. long story short,
00:21:15.210 --> 00:21:17.490
you know, like every entrepreneur goes, not everyone,
00:21:17.650 --> 00:21:19.730
but a lot of entrepreneurs go through this. What
00:21:19.730 --> 00:21:22.789
am I going to do? Cars being repossessed, being
00:21:22.789 --> 00:21:25.390
evicted from my apartment. I mean, the list goes
00:21:25.390 --> 00:21:29.690
on. And I came across this concept of biodegradable.
00:21:29.930 --> 00:21:32.089
And then I started doing my research and I started
00:21:32.089 --> 00:21:33.890
understanding what was biodegradable and what
00:21:33.890 --> 00:21:36.910
was compostable. So I put a business together
00:21:36.910 --> 00:21:39.750
where we were importing compostable shopping
00:21:39.750 --> 00:21:44.430
bags into the marketplace. in 2009, 2010, and
00:21:44.430 --> 00:21:47.349
I started getting involved with Chicago city
00:21:47.349 --> 00:21:49.710
council, started getting involved with different
00:21:49.710 --> 00:21:53.089
municipalities that were looking to do bad bans,
00:21:53.390 --> 00:21:55.730
but pushing and understanding that compostable
00:21:55.730 --> 00:21:58.490
bags was going to increase composting and help
00:21:58.490 --> 00:22:01.130
develop more composting and increase the infrastructure
00:22:01.130 --> 00:22:03.809
of forage scrap diversion, because that's what
00:22:03.809 --> 00:22:06.869
composting is. We got to divert our food scraps.
00:22:07.450 --> 00:22:10.190
So through all of that process, started building
00:22:10.190 --> 00:22:12.609
a business, started getting some national distribution.
00:22:13.309 --> 00:22:17.750
I got to a point in around 2018, 2019, I ended
00:22:17.750 --> 00:22:21.470
up making a bad business decision and I had to
00:22:21.470 --> 00:22:23.710
get away from that industry, from the compostable
00:22:23.710 --> 00:22:27.950
bag industry, but it was still had my foot on
00:22:27.950 --> 00:22:30.210
the post or thumb on the post in the food packaging
00:22:30.210 --> 00:22:32.809
world. And through relationships, I got introduced
00:22:32.809 --> 00:22:37.059
to this technology in approximately 2020. And
00:22:37.059 --> 00:22:39.339
through time, doing some research into diligence,
00:22:39.480 --> 00:22:41.880
like any of us, right? Understanding, is it real?
00:22:42.259 --> 00:22:44.920
Does this really do what it says it does? Because
00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:48.680
it does sound like a unicorn. It sounds like
00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:52.319
a silver bullet. And to be completely candid,
00:22:52.420 --> 00:22:55.579
I've had these type of conversations on these
00:22:55.579 --> 00:23:00.980
kinds of products for 10 years now. There was
00:23:00.980 --> 00:23:03.200
a company out of Canada. There was a company,
00:23:03.980 --> 00:23:06.720
I forget where else. And then they never seem
00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:10.599
to go anywhere. And so I always like to know
00:23:10.599 --> 00:23:16.859
that A, it still seems to be viable to some extent
00:23:16.859 --> 00:23:20.579
and that you guys have testing and you're still
00:23:20.579 --> 00:23:22.299
working this angle. Because I do think there
00:23:22.299 --> 00:23:25.779
are products that diapers are a great example.
00:23:25.880 --> 00:23:27.420
You're never going to recycle it because of what
00:23:27.420 --> 00:23:30.279
goes into the diaper. And there are other things
00:23:30.279 --> 00:23:34.890
like that that just will never be recycled. And
00:23:34.890 --> 00:23:38.269
so we need to find a solution for it. So I like
00:23:38.269 --> 00:23:43.690
that idea. It's just a matter of, I think you're
00:23:43.690 --> 00:23:46.089
going to run into a lot of skepticism because
00:23:46.089 --> 00:23:49.450
it sounds too good to be true. It really does.
00:23:49.970 --> 00:23:53.349
And so that's why I ask these things. My next
00:23:53.349 --> 00:23:56.690
question is, are you like an owner there or are
00:23:56.690 --> 00:23:59.789
you just an employee or how does that all work?
00:23:59.890 --> 00:24:05.099
I'm curious. Yeah. We can talk about the skepticism
00:24:05.099 --> 00:24:07.319
because that's something we deal with every day,
00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:10.000
right? Yeah. But yeah, to answer your question
00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:13.119
as far as ownership, yeah. So our group, we're
00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:16.660
considered Ross Americas. Our group is, we have
00:24:16.660 --> 00:24:18.740
the distribution rights to the technology on
00:24:18.740 --> 00:24:21.400
this side of the world. So North America, Central
00:24:21.400 --> 00:24:23.819
America, South America, and the Caribbean, I'm
00:24:23.819 --> 00:24:25.720
one of the partners of that group. Where's the
00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:27.839
corporate at? That was my next question. Yeah.
00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:33.250
Ross corporate is at Hong Kong. Okay. Hong Kong,
00:24:33.490 --> 00:24:36.390
currently today, the technology is being made
00:24:36.390 --> 00:24:39.170
in China and Thailand, and we're in the final
00:24:39.170 --> 00:24:42.130
processes of finalizing American compounding.
00:24:42.509 --> 00:24:46.250
So we'll start compounding in the US. You're
00:24:46.250 --> 00:24:48.190
ahead of all my questions, because my next thing
00:24:48.190 --> 00:24:50.849
was going to be, what about assets? I hear you're
00:24:50.849 --> 00:24:53.490
third party producing all of this, and apparently
00:24:53.490 --> 00:24:55.690
you're third party producing all of this. With
00:24:55.690 --> 00:24:59.029
the process of kind of understanding manufacturing
00:24:59.029 --> 00:25:00.430
and understanding, okay, we're going to start
00:25:00.430 --> 00:25:04.009
looking at near shore. we were able to concentrate
00:25:04.009 --> 00:25:07.750
significantly the formula and were able to compound
00:25:07.750 --> 00:25:10.869
easily, making it more accessible to where we're
00:25:10.869 --> 00:25:12.609
selling the product. I know you said you had
00:25:12.609 --> 00:25:15.250
some comments on the skepticism. I'd love to
00:25:15.250 --> 00:25:18.630
hear your response to the skepticism because
00:25:18.630 --> 00:25:22.329
I got to be honest. I keep hearing these things
00:25:22.329 --> 00:25:25.049
and I don't see it. I haven't seen it scale yet.
00:25:25.289 --> 00:25:29.410
So I would love it too. I really would. But what
00:25:29.410 --> 00:25:33.359
is your... What is your response to my skepticism?
00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:36.500
I welcome it, Justin, 100 % because, and this
00:25:36.500 --> 00:25:39.000
is the skepticism that we hear every single day.
00:25:39.019 --> 00:25:41.140
I was just as skeptical when coming from the
00:25:41.140 --> 00:25:44.819
composting industry. I spent a decade of my career
00:25:44.819 --> 00:25:48.019
and providing for my family, selling compostable
00:25:48.019 --> 00:25:50.420
packaging, selling composting, selling that this
00:25:50.420 --> 00:25:52.839
is a solution and still a proponent of it, still
00:25:52.839 --> 00:25:55.059
a supporter, still sell compostable packaging.
00:25:55.559 --> 00:25:59.140
That's definitely different, but we need to look
00:25:59.140 --> 00:26:01.039
at innovation. We need to look at technology
00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:03.900
and understand that with innovation, there are
00:26:03.900 --> 00:26:06.660
solutions in the marketplace like this. And we
00:26:06.660 --> 00:26:08.839
have the science and the data to back it up.
00:26:09.160 --> 00:26:10.839
Cause that's the thing. If I didn't have the
00:26:10.839 --> 00:26:13.960
data and I didn't have certification in science
00:26:13.960 --> 00:26:17.619
to back it up, then the skepticism, it's going
00:26:17.619 --> 00:26:19.359
to be a little bit more and it's harder for us
00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:21.900
to challenge that or at least go and provide
00:26:21.900 --> 00:26:25.400
evidence. But we have all the evidence now. That
00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:27.740
that helps eliminate some of that skepticism
00:26:27.740 --> 00:26:30.960
is one by strictly looking at the data, looking
00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:34.299
at both lab data and real world data. And then
00:26:34.299 --> 00:26:35.900
one of the things that I do, I mean, naturally
00:26:35.900 --> 00:26:38.319
we can do it here because we're having a conversation.
00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:41.500
Say, uh, virtually, but if you were to take a
00:26:41.500 --> 00:26:45.859
vial and a violent smell, some of the plastic
00:26:45.859 --> 00:26:47.839
that's already started to go through the process
00:26:47.839 --> 00:26:50.859
and degrading you would. your skepticism will
00:26:50.859 --> 00:26:52.559
start going a little bit less because you're
00:26:52.559 --> 00:26:54.160
going to smell the acid and you're going to start
00:26:54.160 --> 00:26:57.440
smelling the degradation taking place. So for
00:26:57.440 --> 00:27:01.900
us, yes, it's a higher mountain decline because
00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:04.420
of unfortunately some of the previous competitors,
00:27:04.660 --> 00:27:07.779
previous technology couldn't prove what we now
00:27:07.779 --> 00:27:10.900
are able to prove, but we welcome the challenge.
00:27:11.180 --> 00:27:14.119
We have the data and I always like to compare
00:27:14.119 --> 00:27:16.220
to kind of think about where were electric cars
00:27:16.220 --> 00:27:21.470
20 years ago. 25 years ago, there was that made
00:27:21.470 --> 00:27:22.950
is not going to work. It's not going to work.
00:27:23.009 --> 00:27:25.890
This stuff doesn't make sense. And now every,
00:27:26.089 --> 00:27:27.329
you know, I don't know the data. I don't know
00:27:27.329 --> 00:27:29.450
the stats on how many card electric cars are
00:27:29.450 --> 00:27:31.849
out there, but there's a lot. It's not growing
00:27:31.849 --> 00:27:35.289
like it used to, but it's still growing. It's
00:27:35.289 --> 00:27:37.029
still growing. And for us, it's like, let's look
00:27:37.029 --> 00:27:40.009
at technology and innovation and let's not first,
00:27:40.009 --> 00:27:42.509
let's not let perfection be the enemy of good
00:27:42.509 --> 00:27:45.410
and understand that with innovation, there is
00:27:45.529 --> 00:27:49.390
Some good out there and and we can go towards
00:27:49.390 --> 00:27:51.750
it with proving data and that's what we I think
00:27:51.750 --> 00:27:54.089
the the difficulty with yours though is if you
00:27:54.089 --> 00:27:57.049
don't have perfection And you're gonna have some
00:27:57.049 --> 00:27:59.009
sort of microplastics if it's not doing a hundred
00:27:59.009 --> 00:28:01.670
percent of what you say It's gonna do so that
00:28:01.670 --> 00:28:04.109
that makes it Makes it a bit of a challenge when
00:28:04.109 --> 00:28:06.650
you're doing your testing and because you've
00:28:06.650 --> 00:28:08.190
spoken a lot about the the different testing
00:28:08.190 --> 00:28:10.289
You've done is that internal testing or is that
00:28:10.289 --> 00:28:14.200
like a third -party? certified testing work What
00:28:14.200 --> 00:28:17.500
is the testing protocol that you're doing there?
00:28:17.539 --> 00:28:19.220
And thank you for asking that, Justin, because
00:28:19.220 --> 00:28:21.240
it's very important to know everything is been
00:28:21.240 --> 00:28:23.680
third -party verified, third -party labs, and
00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:27.019
they are all under the ILAC umbrella. So either
00:28:27.019 --> 00:28:30.000
directly certified under ILAC or through ILAC's
00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:33.700
partnerships, they are following the ILAC processes
00:28:33.700 --> 00:28:36.359
and frameworks. All right. And I got a stupid
00:28:36.359 --> 00:28:39.299
question for you. What is ILAC? International
00:28:39.299 --> 00:28:41.900
- A billion plastics a long time. I've never
00:28:41.900 --> 00:28:45.539
heard of ILAC. Yeah. Oh, so it's the International
00:28:45.539 --> 00:28:51.099
Laboratory Accreditation Corporation. So basically
00:28:51.099 --> 00:28:53.099
making sure your labs are being run the right
00:28:53.099 --> 00:28:56.319
way, done the right way, following certain processes.
00:28:56.720 --> 00:28:59.559
And I bring that up because in talking in some
00:28:59.559 --> 00:29:02.460
of these South American countries and in other
00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:06.079
Central American countries, that's an important
00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:08.200
piece to them, is making sure whatever labs we
00:29:08.200 --> 00:29:10.460
are using, they are accredited. and following
00:29:10.460 --> 00:29:12.500
the certain processes and protocols. I'm glad
00:29:12.500 --> 00:29:15.519
I stomped you all one. It happens more often
00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:20.700
than you think. What got you into the degradable
00:29:20.700 --> 00:29:24.319
plastic space, but before that compostable? There
00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:27.720
has to be some sort of an environmental drive
00:29:27.720 --> 00:29:30.460
there, because it seems like your businesses
00:29:30.460 --> 00:29:33.579
have been focused on environmental challenges
00:29:33.579 --> 00:29:37.569
so far. What drives that? Like what got you there?
00:29:37.690 --> 00:29:39.650
Is that just something that you woke up one day
00:29:39.650 --> 00:29:40.829
and you're like, Hey, that looks like a good
00:29:40.829 --> 00:29:43.930
business. Or is it something that's like, there's
00:29:43.930 --> 00:29:46.750
some experience there that has driven you down
00:29:46.750 --> 00:29:49.789
this path? You know, the first thing that I can
00:29:49.789 --> 00:29:52.829
recall as a kid growing up in South America and
00:29:52.829 --> 00:29:56.289
Columbia outdoors all the time. Oh, you know,
00:29:56.430 --> 00:29:58.490
we grew up on the farm. We used to grow up outdoors
00:29:58.490 --> 00:30:00.089
all the time and it was always important to kind
00:30:00.089 --> 00:30:02.680
of reduce and reuse as much as possible. But
00:30:02.680 --> 00:30:05.279
when coming back, when I used to play soccer,
00:30:05.299 --> 00:30:07.599
came back into the States and growing up in Miami,
00:30:08.299 --> 00:30:10.839
I was always the kid that stayed after soccer
00:30:10.839 --> 00:30:12.880
games and soccer practice, picking up the Gatorade
00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:15.819
bottles, picking up the little green cups that
00:30:15.819 --> 00:30:18.400
we used to drink. And I was always conscious
00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:21.640
of that and just not letting litter out in the
00:30:21.640 --> 00:30:23.640
street or out in the park after we were done
00:30:23.640 --> 00:30:26.099
with the soccer game. So that kind of just stuck
00:30:26.099 --> 00:30:28.539
with me growing up. And then when I got to the
00:30:28.539 --> 00:30:31.059
opportunity, it was business and starting my
00:30:31.059 --> 00:30:34.579
own business. It just, it clicked. There was,
00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:37.599
when I had to close a shipping franchise, when
00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:40.799
the economy turned in 2009 and I was moving,
00:30:41.240 --> 00:30:43.420
I had to get out of my apartment. I had to, I
00:30:43.420 --> 00:30:45.559
was donating my pots and pants to a friend of
00:30:45.559 --> 00:30:48.740
mine. I had them in a, in a shop, in a shopping
00:30:48.740 --> 00:30:51.720
bag, like in a t -shirt bag. And when I went
00:30:51.720 --> 00:30:54.819
to move the t -shirt bag, it broke on me. So
00:30:54.819 --> 00:30:58.339
I needed another bag. And in that process of
00:30:58.339 --> 00:31:00.539
realizing I'm going to reuse this plastic bag.
00:31:00.779 --> 00:31:03.779
And I reuse this fasting bag all the time. I
00:31:03.779 --> 00:31:05.799
reuse it for my shoes. I reuse it for the gym
00:31:05.799 --> 00:31:08.539
bag. I reuse it for swimsuits. And then I reuse
00:31:08.539 --> 00:31:11.480
it this time again for my pots and pans. And
00:31:11.480 --> 00:31:13.859
then that's what kind of struck the cord. The
00:31:13.859 --> 00:31:16.180
light bulb went off and said, well, we're reusing
00:31:16.180 --> 00:31:19.200
this. What are the alternatives out there? How
00:31:19.200 --> 00:31:22.079
often can we reuse it? And can I sell advertising
00:31:22.079 --> 00:31:24.859
space on them because I'm reusing it. And then
00:31:24.859 --> 00:31:27.549
that thing, one thing led to another. where I
00:31:27.549 --> 00:31:30.029
was able to start building an advertising agency
00:31:30.029 --> 00:31:33.829
selling ads on compostable bags in the city of
00:31:33.829 --> 00:31:37.230
Chicago. And we started building the business.
00:31:37.289 --> 00:31:39.670
We started getting traction. And at that point
00:31:39.670 --> 00:31:41.789
there was an alderman in the city, and this is
00:31:41.789 --> 00:31:45.410
not going to 2010, 2011. He wanted to put a ban
00:31:45.410 --> 00:31:49.009
on plastic bags in the city of Chicago. And at
00:31:49.009 --> 00:31:52.509
that, I was probably 24 years old, had never
00:31:52.509 --> 00:31:55.200
talked to a politician in my life. I just went
00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:57.539
and said, listen, you're better. I have before,
00:31:57.900 --> 00:32:00.140
but I had the solution. I showed up, you know,
00:32:00.299 --> 00:32:02.359
it's singing tie and said, here's a, here's a
00:32:02.359 --> 00:32:05.140
compostable bag that does all the good things
00:32:05.140 --> 00:32:07.759
that we know plastic does, but it doesn't have
00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:09.940
the negatives that we're worried about. So let's
00:32:09.940 --> 00:32:12.180
see how we can get this into the market. And
00:32:12.180 --> 00:32:15.059
for the next 12 to 18 months, Justin, I, when
00:32:15.059 --> 00:32:17.680
I spoke to all the aldermen in the cities, when
00:32:17.680 --> 00:32:20.799
testified in part of city council. Even to the
00:32:20.799 --> 00:32:24.220
opportunity to get invited and meet President
00:32:24.220 --> 00:32:28.180
Obama at one point, not necessarily talk about
00:32:28.180 --> 00:32:30.059
this, but through being entrepreneurship, et
00:32:30.059 --> 00:32:33.500
cetera. So long story short, not to bore all
00:32:33.500 --> 00:32:36.180
the audience on this story, but it was been over
00:32:36.180 --> 00:32:39.880
14, 15 years of a passion for sustainability
00:32:39.880 --> 00:32:42.640
and then just understanding it and then realizing
00:32:42.640 --> 00:32:45.559
that we could do good business for good and for
00:32:45.559 --> 00:32:49.130
the environment and for our neighbors. And I
00:32:49.130 --> 00:32:51.109
just stuff with it and kind of continue to follow
00:32:51.109 --> 00:32:54.309
through. So how do people learn more about what
00:32:54.309 --> 00:32:56.250
you guys are doing? You have like a website out
00:32:56.250 --> 00:32:59.829
there that somebody can get in contact or I'm
00:32:59.829 --> 00:33:02.009
assuming LinkedIn, because that's how we got
00:33:02.009 --> 00:33:06.309
connected, right? But is there an easy way for
00:33:06.309 --> 00:33:08.549
people to find out more about your products?
00:33:08.569 --> 00:33:10.690
Specifically, there's a brand listening that
00:33:10.690 --> 00:33:13.230
has some sort of interest in learning more. Yes,
00:33:13.309 --> 00:33:15.730
they can definitely visit our websites. It's
00:33:15.730 --> 00:33:19.859
RawsAmericas .com. And you can also find me on
00:33:19.859 --> 00:33:22.779
LinkedIn and under Camilo Farrell or and obviously
00:33:22.779 --> 00:33:27.259
speak with Justin and we can connect. But Rawsamericas
00:33:27.259 --> 00:33:29.519
.com would be the easiest and most direct way
00:33:29.519 --> 00:33:31.480
to find us. All right. And we'll put all that
00:33:31.480 --> 00:33:34.519
in the show notes so everybody's easily able
00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:38.579
to get in touch and find all that stuff. I typically
00:33:38.579 --> 00:33:44.920
let the guest have last word, last topic, anything
00:33:44.920 --> 00:33:46.980
we haven't covered today. Is there something
00:33:46.980 --> 00:33:49.579
that ... that you really want us to know about
00:33:49.579 --> 00:33:51.880
the company or the products that maybe we haven't
00:33:51.880 --> 00:33:53.880
covered already? No, I think Justin, you've done
00:33:53.880 --> 00:33:55.960
a great job. Thank you for going through this
00:33:55.960 --> 00:33:58.000
and for somebody who's had the experience of
00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:00.359
talking to different technologies through the
00:34:00.359 --> 00:34:04.279
years. I appreciate the space and the openness
00:34:04.279 --> 00:34:06.980
to be able to connect with us. We have a very
00:34:06.980 --> 00:34:09.380
innovative technology. We have something that's
00:34:09.380 --> 00:34:12.159
now proven and now it's scientific validated.
00:34:13.239 --> 00:34:15.039
So we welcome all companies that are looking
00:34:15.039 --> 00:34:18.360
to find for solutions to to help with their sustainability
00:34:18.360 --> 00:34:20.840
goals, to reach out. And we're happy to go through
00:34:20.840 --> 00:34:23.739
this process and testing it is very straightforward
00:34:23.739 --> 00:34:27.019
and it's very easy. It's not a long winded testing
00:34:27.019 --> 00:34:30.199
process. I'd honestly love nothing more than
00:34:30.199 --> 00:34:33.659
for you to be successful with this. Like if it
00:34:33.659 --> 00:34:36.300
all works and everything is doing exactly what
00:34:36.300 --> 00:34:40.019
you say it is, then by all means, I'd love to
00:34:40.019 --> 00:34:43.179
see you be successful and solve some problems
00:34:43.179 --> 00:34:47.739
because Lord knows we've got them. I'm real excited
00:34:47.739 --> 00:34:49.639
to see kind of where this whole thing ends up.
00:34:50.300 --> 00:34:52.260
Appreciate your time today. Appreciate everybody
00:34:52.260 --> 00:34:54.360
listening. This has been the Redefining Plastics
00:34:54.360 --> 00:34:56.579
podcast. My name is Justin Riney for Camillo
00:34:56.579 --> 00:34:58.239
Farro. If you want to learn more about the
00:34:58.239 --> 00:35:01.139
plastics industry, recycling, check out these
00:35:01.139 --> 00:35:01.940
other videos.