Switching to this Algae-Based Ink Could Equal Taking 25,000,000 Cars Off The Road

Around the world innovations have been rapidly advancing recycling programs to the point that countries like Sweden, South Korea, and Austria have reduced waste to a degree far greater than the United States. In the US there is neither systematic urgency no individual incentive to improve the current system--trash simply gets taken further away.

When you live in Hawai’i, well, you have no choice but to accept the reality of limited land and space--there is no "away".. On any island, advanced waste management techniques would be very welcome and they’re increasingly being deployed around the world. Just recently the president of Indonesia—the world’s largest island nation—announced a “war on trash”. 

Unfortunately government support for environmental projects in the United States are, to put it mildly, severely curtailed. Any and all innovation is coming from private companies who often face an uphill battle when working with bureaucracies.

I remember seeing a poster in my elementary school that featured the iconic picture of Earth encouraging kids to “Recycle, because good planets are hard to find.” This was part of the Public Service Announcements (PSA) that have all but disappeared today. Instead of educational messages on how to best care for the planet we’ve been bombarded by greenwashing to the point of people all but giving up. 

Well, there’s one Hawaiian company, Waiakea, that’s far from giving up, they’re actually raising the bar through innovation and using profits to support a wide array of projects including the first-ever Ōlelo Hawai‘i focused digital surf contest in collaboration with Ēweleiʻula Wong. “They really show up in support of my vision of sharing Hawaiian Culture and surfing with the world. We are so excited to continue and expand the event for the second year in a row.”

Surfing aside, for the past decade Waiakea has been quietly diving deep into the details of how to best reduce their carbon footprint and positively impact their community. Their Kokua initiative alone would be worth a novel of stories—in 2024 their nonprofit support reached over 174,000 people on Hawai’i. 

Coco Ho, ambassador of many years, is stoked, “I’m proud to work with a brand that truly walks its talk when it comes to sustainability. Their use of algae black ink instead of traditional carbon black shows a real commitment to protecting our land and ocean here in Hawai‘i. They give back to the community in important ways — including supporting our kūpuna. That part is especially personal to me, as caring for and honoring our elders, like my dad, means everything. It feels good to align with a company whose values genuinely reflect the spirit of home.”

As someone who has extensively covered environmental topics here at SURFER, I was intrigued to connect with Ryan Emmons to learn more about everything from recycling to their revolutionary algae-based ink. 

How did your early background influence the vision for Waiakea?

Going back to my childhood, I’ve always been fascinated by algae, spending much of my youth in the Pacific Ocean while growing up between California and Hawai‘i. That curiosity, paired with an interest in preserving the environment, later shaped the foundation of Waiākea. When I co-founded the company, one of our first major decisions was to implement a 100% rPET bottle system, ensuring that all of our bottles are made from post-consumer recycled plastic rather than virgin material, setting a new sustainability standard in the beverage space.

Let’s start with plastic water bottles, what are the facts behind it as a material?

The more I looked at real-world data, the clearer it became that 100% rPET was the best option. It had the lowest CO₂ emissions, water use, and energy demand of any packaging material in peer-reviewed studies, and unlike newer materials, it already had nationwide recycling infrastructure in place. That’s something often overlooked but incredibly important. While PET bottles aren’t recycled as often as they should be, the system still works. In places like Hawai‘i and California, where bottle deposit programs exist, recycling rates can reach over 80%.

To be sure, we ran a scenario study comparing the environmental costs of switching from virgin PET to rPET, aluminum, and glass. (Tetra Pak, the carton used for milk, juice, and soups, wasn’t included. It’s made of multiple layers of plastic, aluminum, and paperboard, making it nearly impossible to recycle.) The results were clear: rPET outperformed every other option in energy use, global warming potential, and water consumption many times over.

Our OceanPlast Bottles are made from 100% recycled ocean-bound plastic, specifically collecting the equivalent of up to 5 bottles from coastal communities for every bottle produced.

What about the algae-based ink? How did it start and can you tell me about the challenges and potential impact?

In 2019, I started exploring a new angle for an algae-based solution in inks. Inks don’t face the same challenges as solid, rigid algae-based products or packaging, such as water and energy usage. While a few companies were exploring algae as a carbon-negative alternative to carbon black, a company called Living Ink Technologies quickly became a leader in the space. At the time, they were working with Cyanotech in Kona on research and development, which felt like a full-circle moment.

The company pioneered a carbon-negative pigment made from algae to replace petroleum-derived carbon black.

As for impact, if adopted for widespread use, it could prevent and remove an estimated 100+ million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent emissions each year, which is roughly the climate impact of taking 25 million cars off the road.

However, one application was still a major challenge: that of flexographic labels within consumer packaged goods.

Over the next few years, we deepened our R&D efforts, eventually partnering with ACTEGA, a world-renowned specialist in inks and coatings, to co-develop an ink formulation capable of performing at commercial scale. The collaboration led to the creation of ACTExact® UV Black Algae Ink, This breakthrough meant the ink could properly cure, adhere to labels, and finally bring our vision to life.

What else do you have going on?

We are founding partners in what will be Hawaii's first end-to-end recycling facility, to be located on the Big Island. It will initially focus on common consumer plastics, particularly PET from the bottle deposit program, as the HI-5 system is Hawaii's only collection of substance.

There’s a lot to be done in educating people on the environmental costs, benefits, and negatives of every packaging type. Materials should be judged on their use, footprint, and disposal—recycling should be prioritized and innovated in the US to address growing waste concerns. Accelerating the use of recycled content is seen as the number one way to reduce water usage, energy footprint, and CO2 footprint, regardless of material type.

States that have bottle-collection programs have a much higher recycling rate than those who don’t but the system is still antiquated. Modern systems even use LIDAR technology for advanced automated sorting. 

It is our hope that we can help raise the bar and lead the way for Hawai’i, our roots run deep here. We do this work out of love for the land, not just for show.