Using dead leaves rather than healthy trees to make paper: that’s the idea behind Ukrainian startup Releaf Paper. While still at school, founder Valentyn Frechka used his passion for biochemistry to find new ways to make cellulose, the key ingredient in paper. After a failed experiment with grass and straw, he discovered that it was possible to extract fibre from leaves. After creating a working prototype, he relocated to Paris due to the war in Ukraine, and founded Releaf Paper alongside his partner Alexandre Sobolenko. Coffee grounds might be the answer to agricultural contamination: Here’s …
