, founded by three chemistry PhD students who are helping the construction industry to decarbonise. It has developed OSTO, a carbon-negative alternative to traditional aggregate, one of concrete's main ingredients, made from unrecyclable plastic waste. The Government has said it wants to build 300,000 new homes each year and LCM's founders say that if 10 per cent of those homes use OSTO, 65,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions would be avoided in just five years. Natasha Boulding, the company's chief executive, said: 'Until now, construction has been one of the hardest industries to decarbonise. With LCM, that could all change. 'We've turned concrete net zero and now we need the world to start using it. We're so excited to be a finalist of the Earthshot Prize and to be recognised for our work to fix our climate.'){kind=link}
Prince of Wales hails the ‘energy and talent’ of prize nominees who are on a mission to ‘make packaging disappear’
A seaweed-based alternative to plastic has been named one of the first UK finalists of the Prince of Wales’s Earthshot Prize.
The initiative is among 15 contenders vying for one of five £1million cash awards at next month’s ceremony.
The biodegradable material, called Notpla, was the brainchild of London-based friends Pierre Paslier and Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez, who claim to “make packaging disappear”.
It was used during the 2019 London Marathon, when 36,000 Notpla-made edible packaging bubbles filled with Lucozade were handed to runners.