Per-capita rice consumption in Korea has been decreasing by around 4% annually, the fastest decline among rice-consuming countries such as China and Japan.
Although new uses for rice—such as snacks and beverages—are being explored, significant amounts of aged rice still require additional resources for storage and disposal. Rice stored for more than three years is typically incinerated, negatively impacting the environment.
To address this issue, OAFE developed RICESTIC, an eco-friendly material created by specially compounding surplus rice with thermoplastic resins. This bio-based plastic offers excellent processability for extrusion and injection molding, reduces CO₂ emissions and waste, and is more cost-effective than biodegradable resins.
