This Company Uses Ocean Sand to Create Sustainable Dining Products

By Taha KhanReviewed by Laura ThomsonAug 19 2026

The food service industry is under mounting pressure to abandon single-use plastic, and NantBioRenewables believes the answer lies beneath the ocean's surface. Based in Gadsden, Alabama, US, the company produces Wave Ware^™, a line of compostable straws, plates, bowls, trays, and cutlery molded from a renewable mineral called ocean calcium sand.¹

Image Credit: Gibran becerril/Shutterstock.com

Unlike conventional bioplastics, Wave Ware is engineered to match plastic strength yet break down completely in home and commercial composting, leaving no microplastics behind.² The urgency is clear as an estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year, a figure that could climb to 29 million tons within two decades.³

Microplastics have since been detected in the blood of roughly 89% of tested adults, turning a waste problem into a human-health concern.⁴

NantBioRenewables is part of the Nant ecosystem of science companies chaired by Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong, and its arrival signals a shift from plant-starch plastics toward mineral-based, carbon-negative tableware.¹

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From Ocean Sand to Tableware

Wave Ware begins with oolitic aragonite, a form of calcium carbonate that precipitates naturally on the shallow banks of the Bahamas during whiting events, when blooms of photosynthetic cyanobacteria draw carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and mineralize it into tiny egg-shaped grains.⁵

Because carbon is captured as the sand forms, the raw material is carbon-negative from the outset.⁶ NantBioRenewables sources the mineral through its sister company, Calcean, in two grades:

• SandyCal^™, a granular sand that is 96-98% calcium carbonate
• OceanCal^™, the same mineral milled into fine 3, 5 or 8-micron powders for blending into biopolymers.^1,6

In a compostable composite, the aragonite does more than bulk out the polymer. Its high pH buffers acidic resins such as PLA, while its crystalline structure raises stiffness, impact resistance, and heat-distortion temperature, resulting in a filler that improves performance.⁵

The Wave Ware^™ Product Range

The line covers the main touchpoints of food service, each certified compostable and offered in a range of colors (Table 1).

Table 1. Wave Ware^™ product range and certifications. Source: NantBioRenewables

How it Compares with Existing Materials

Most “eco” tableware forces a trade-off between sustainability and performance. Wave Ware’s mineral-polymer blend is designed to avoid it, as the manufacturer’s comparison of common food-service materials illustrates (Table 2).²

Table 2. Wave Ware’s Ocean Calcium Sand versus conventional alternatives (manufacturer data). Source: NantBioRenewables

Certification, Compliance and End of Life

NantBioRenewables leans on third-party validation rather than marketing claims. Wave Ware products carry ASTM D6400, TÜV Austria Belgium home-compost, BPI, and USDA Biobased certifications, while the raw mineral is backed by ISO 14044 life-cycle assessment, an Environmental Product Declaration, and FDA GRAS status.²

Certified items decompose within 6-12 months into non-toxic compost, and because aragonite is rich in bioavailable calcium, the residue can enrich soil and lift crop yields rather than simply disappearing.² The distinction matters commercially: California’s SB 54 will require 100% of single-use food-service packaging sold in the state to be recyclable or compostable, alongside a 25% cut in single-use volumes, by 2032.⁷ Products that are genuinely compostable, rather than merely biodegradable, are moving from niche to mandatory.

Manufacturing and Market

All Wave Ware is manufactured at the company’s facility in Gadsden, Alabama, which NantBioRenewables argues delivers tariff-free supply, shorter lead times, tighter quality control, and a smaller shipping footprint than imported alternatives.⁸

Its target customers are high-volume operators, including hotels, resorts, and cruise lines; restaurant chains; airports; corporate and institutional cafeterias; government contracts; and amusement parks.¹ These buyers sit within a compostable food-service packaging market valued at roughly US$18.8 billion in 2024 and forecast to keep expanding as single-use plastic bans spread across North America.⁹

Conclusions

Wave Ware signals where sustainable packaging is heading: away from fossil feedstocks and starch-based plastics, and toward abundant, carbon-negative minerals that strengthen the product and then feed the soil.

By sourcing a renewable ocean mineral, certifying it independently, and manufacturing domestically, NantBioRenewables tackles performance, regulation, and environmental impact at once.

The company reports a new production facility underway, an EcoVadis-recognized supply chain through Calcean, and a shortlisting for the 2026 World Sustainability Awards, alongside a forthcoming e-commerce platform to reach smaller buyers.^1,6

If mineral-polymer composites can scale at competitive cost, the humble straw and takeaway tray may become one of the more visible fronts in the fight against microplastic pollution.

References and Further Reading

1. NantBioRenewables. (2026). Sustainable Wave Ware^™ Straws & Tableware. Available at: https://nantbiorenewables.com/.
2. NantBioRenewables. (2025). Product Sustainability & Innovation. Available at: https://nantbiorenewables.com/sustainability/.
3. The Pew Charitable Trusts (2020). Research Finds Plastic Flows Into the Ocean Expected to Triple by 2040 - but Immediate Action Could Stem Tide by More Than 80%. Available at: https://www.pew.org/en/about/news-room/press-releases-and-statements/2020/07/23/research-finds-plastic-flows-into-the-ocean-expected-to-triple-by-2040.
4. Lee, D.-W., et al. (2024). Microplastic particles in human blood and their association with coagulation markers. Scientific Reports, 14(1). DOI:10.1038/s41598-024-81931-9. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-81931-9.
5. Calcean. What is Oolitic Aragonite?. Available at: https://www.calcean.com/blog/whatisooliticaragonite.
6. Phantom Plastics. Aragonite Renewable Filler Sequesters Carbon Dioxide. Available at: https://phantomplastics.com/aragonite-renewable-filler-for-plastics-and-paint-sequesters-carbon-dioxide/.
7. Recycling Today. (2025). California’s SB 54 regulations approved and in effect. Available at: https://www.recyclingtoday.com/news/california-senate-bill-54-regulations-approved-and-in-effect-epr/.
8. NantBioRenewables. (2026). About Us | American-Made Compostable Solutions. Available at: https://nantbiorenewables.com/about/.
9. Research and Markets (2026). Compostable Foodservice Packaging Market Size & Competitors. Research And Markets. Available at: https://www.researchandmarkets.com/report/compostable-foodservice-packaging-market.

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