Bright Idea: This Natural Glow Stick Doesn’t Pollute
Lux Bio invented an alternative to the toxic plastic wands that litter landfills and oceans.
Carrying around the world’s first compostable glow stick is sort of like keeping a jellyfish in your pocket.
And it solves a big problem that comes with the allure of traditional chemiluminescent glow sticks. For users who range from kids to soldiers to blissed-out music festival attendees, after about 12 hours the neon wand becomes useless trash, chemically contaminated and non-recyclable.
Ten years ago, Paige Whitehead saw that downside first-hand while volunteering to pick up garbage at the Shambhala Music Festival. Today she is CEO of a Vancouver startup called Lux Bio that’s releasing its own version of the iconic bendy light — powered by bioluminescence and completely biodegradable.
Lux Bio was one of the 2023 finalists for the Ray of Hope Prize (now the Ray of Hope Accelerator). Read the full story in The Tyee.
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