BioFase is a company committed to providing sustainable solutions for biodegradable plastics. Their resins are used to produce 100 percent biodegradable and compostable plastic objects.

Modern day bioplastics are usually made from raw materials, such as corn and other food sources. "It was the need to find a green product that utilized waste, as opposed to foods, that gave rise to BioFase," says Scott Munguia, CEO of BioFase.

They identified a need to find new sources and methods to produce real sustainable plastics. Avocado seeds are a significant waste product in Mexico, due to the large scale production and the industrial processing that takes place.

BioFase is proud to offer a product that is not only green, but is also made using a product considered to be waste. At the moment there are no other significant uses for avocado seeds. Some companies use the material as compost, but the majority throw them away, some even paying other companies to handle the waste for them. "We saw an opportunity to create a new industry around avocado seeds," says Mungia.

The company has recently been recognized for its efforts, winning an award at the International and Entrepreneurial Forum "Spin 2012," in Madrid, Spain. In addition to this, the company has also been recognized as one of the most promising green companies within Mexico, achieving top 20 status in the Cleantech Challenge contest.

Currently the company plans on using the plentiful resources of avocado seeds available in Mexico, without recourse to use seeds from other countries, as Scott explains, "In the short and middle term we will use avocado seeds exclusively from Mexico."

"It is economically more convenient to use seeds from our own country. However, we do not rule out the possibility of using seeds from other countries in the long term if our company expands. The plan is to sell the product itself on the international marketplace, once the production and distribution in Mexico is developed."

"The US is an important market for bioplastics and is geographically convenient to explore the potential. Other Latin American countries, such as Brazil and Chile, are also starting to incorporate green products within their own markets, so we foresee international market possibilities in the future."

Looking ahead to the future, Scott says he would be pleased to see others take up BioFase's lead on this use of avocado seeds.

"We would be glad to see other companies using new raw materials in a sustainable way. It would be a huge accomplishment for our company to see that avocado seeds are considered a new source. As I stated before, we have the commitment to sharing our vision of real sustainability."