We started with a problem no one was solving.
4.5 billion pounds of plastic mulch film are used in US agriculture every year. Almost none of it is recycled. We set out to change that — using two waste streams the world already has too much of.
Our Story
From a compost bin to a patent-pending process.
It started with a simple observation: the coffee shop downstairs was throwing away hundreds of pounds of spent grounds every week, and the farm up the road was laying down plastic mulch it would never be able to recycle. Two waste problems. One potential solution.
We spent two years in the lab testing formulations — blending coffee grounds with kelp-derived biopolymers, running extrusion trials, and characterizing films that could actually survive a growing season in the field. Most didn't. The ones that did pointed us toward a twin-screw co-extrusion process that no one had applied to this feedstock combination before.
Today, Coffee Kelp BioMulch is pre-commercial and patent-pending. We're running greenhouse trials, building relationships with Pacific Northwest farms, and preparing for our first field pilot season. The plastic mulch problem is enormous. We're starting small, on purpose — because the science has to be right before the scale can be right.
Mission
"To eliminate single-use plastic mulch from agriculture by making a biodegradable alternative that outperforms it — agronomically, economically, and environmentally."
Science first
We don't make claims we can't back with data. Every performance figure on this site comes from controlled trials or peer-reviewed literature.
Waste as feedstock
Both primary inputs — spent coffee grounds and kelp biomass — are byproducts of existing industries. We don't create new demand for virgin materials.
Farmer-centered design
A biodegradable mulch that can't be laid with standard equipment isn't a solution. We test mechanical compatibility from day one.
Radical transparency
We publish our test data, acknowledge our limitations, and tell farmers exactly what stage of development we're at. No greenwashing.
The Team
Small team. Deep expertise.
We're a founding team of three, with advisors spanning materials science, agronomy, and sustainable supply chains.
Dr. Maya Osei
Co-founder & Chief Science Officer
PhD in polymer materials science from Oregon State. Previously led bioplastics R&D at a Pacific Northwest materials startup. Holds two patents in biopolymer processing.
James Calloway
Co-founder & CEO
10 years in agricultural supply chain, including five years sourcing specialty inputs for organic farms across the Western US. Grew up on a dryland wheat farm in Eastern Oregon.
Priya Nair
Co-founder & Head of Agronomy
MS in soil science from UC Davis. Spent six years as an extension agronomist before joining the founding team. Leads all field trial design and soil health measurement protocols.
Advisors
Want to be part of what comes next?
We're actively looking for farm trial partners, research collaborators, and mission-aligned investors. If that's you, we'd love to hear from you.