Everything we claim, with the source attached.

All claims

The material and the cup

• Dried bacterial cellulose grown on side streams reaches a tensile strength of 72 to 140 MPa, compared with about 30 to 40 MPa for polypropylene. Source (details and source)

  This is a property of the material as a dried film. Measurements on the formed cup follow on the pilot line from the first quarter of 2027.

• Formed cups hold liquid in our laboratory tests. Internal test (details and source)

  From early 2027 we will measure on the pilot line whether this holds for a full medication round.

• Polypropylene, the plastic most medicine cups are made of, has a tensile strength of about 30 to 40 MPa. Source (details and source)

  Typical values for unfilled polypropylene, measured as tensile strength at yield. The datasheet gives 31 to 34 MPa.

• The cup holds 30 ml. Our own data (details and source)

  This applies to the current design.

• Bacterial cellulose has long been made at scale as nata de coco, a dessert from Southeast Asia. Source (details and source)

  This is about food, not rigid products.

Safety

• We use no PFAS and no coating. Our own data (details and source)

  This is about what we use, not a test result. The cup has not yet been tested for fluorine.

• The cup is made of cellulose, with no coating, laminate or additives. There is no plastic in it. Our own data (details and source)

  This follows from the composition of the product. We do not yet have a microplastics test report.

• FTIR measurements show that bacterial cellulose does not react chemically with ibuprofen or propranolol. Only weak, reversible hydrogen bonds form. Source (details and source)

  This is published research on bacterial cellulose, not a test of our cup.

• We have run initial sterilisation tests with gamma irradiation, ethylene oxide and e-beam. The results are preliminary. There is no validation report yet. Internal test (details and source)

  The cup is supplied non-sterile. We do not claim that it is sterile.

• The cup is supplied non-sterile. Our own data (details and source)

  This applies to the current supply. We do not claim that the cup is sterile.

Environment and waste

• A plastic medicine cup has a footprint of about 11.2 g CO₂-eq; a paper one about 1.5 g. Source (details and source)

  Per 30 ml cup, published by Samen de zorg vergroenen.

• Samen de zorg vergroenen advises wards to use fewer medicine cups by assigning a cup to one patient and reusing it. Reuse is not suitable for liquid medicines or crushed medication. Source (details and source)

  This is the platform's recommendation for wards, not research by Plastilose.

• In a published study, bacterial cellulose lost about 75% of its mass in 8 weeks buried in soil. Source (details and source)

  It was a greenhouse soil-burial test. It was done on the material, not on our cup. We do not have a compostability certificate.

• Our bacteria grow on side streams from the food industry, not on food itself. Our own data (details and source)

  We do not disclose which streams.

• Our goal is a cup that can go in the organic waste after use and become compost. Goal (details and source)

  This is a goal, not a property of today's cup. Today the cup goes in general waste. We are still testing organic-waste and paper-recycling routes with waste processors. Nothing has been agreed. We do not have a compostability certificate.

Set apart: an internal estimate, not a published or externally checked figure.

• Our own internal LCA indicates up to about 80% less CO₂ than a plastic cup. Estimate (details and source)

  It is an internal cradle-to-grave estimate, discussed with an external LCA expert. Formal external verification is not yet complete. Depending on the scenario, the reduction is 48 to 83%.

Pilot and interest

• A pilot is running at Maasstad Ziekenhuis in Rotterdam, where hospital staff test our cup during the medication round. Source (details and source)

  No patients take part yet. We share results only after the joint publication with Maasstad, expected in early November 2026.

• To our knowledge, our pilot at Maasstad Ziekenhuis is the first hospital pilot in the world with disposables made of bacterial cellulose. Our own data (details and source)

  This is based on our own literature and market research.

• 45+ healthcare organisations and distributors have come to us unprompted since April 2026 Our own data (details and source)

  Count from our customer system (CRM), cleaned in October 2026: no private individuals, duplicates or lost leads. We did no outreach in that period. Interest is not an order.

• In October 2026 the first sample cups go to hospitals that are considering a pilot. Our own data (details and source)

  We make them by hand in our Delft lab until the pilot line runs.

The market

• Dutch healthcare uses an estimated 89 to 143 million plastic medicine cups a year. Our best estimate is 112 million. Estimate (details and source)

  Our own bottom-up estimate, based on data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the RIVM and the Long-term Care Act (Wlz), plus more than 100 interviews with healthcare organisations around the turn of 2024 to 2025. Not externally verified.

• 300,000 plastic medicine cups a year: what a single hospital easily throws away Estimate (details and source)

  Order of magnitude, based on hospital consumption data from our interviews.

• In millions of cups a year, with the best estimate in brackets. Nursing and care homes 42 to 71 (51). Hospitals 23 to 35 (30). Disability care 18 to 26 (22). Mental health care 5 to 8 (7). Clinics and other care 1 to 3 (2). Estimate (details and source)

  Our own bottom-up estimate, not externally verified. Together 89 to 143 million, with 112 million as the best estimate.

• Care organisation Amstelring used 629,000 plastic medicine cups in a year, for about 1,500 residents. That is just over one cup per resident a day. Source (details and source)

  This is the only published consumption figure we found. The other consumption figures come from our own interviews.

• Over 50 million plastic medicine cups a year, in Dutch healthcare alone Estimate (details and source)

  A conservative lower bound. Our own bottom-up estimate comes to 89 to 143 million, with 112 million as the best estimate. Not externally verified.

The company and the plan

• Patent pending (Dutch application filed March 2026). Source (details and source)

  An application is not a granted patent.

• Winner of the Nieuwe Heldenprijs 2026. Source (details and source)

  Awarded on 2 June 2026.

• Selected for the KVK Innovatie Top 100 2026 (Circulaire economie). Source (details and source)

  Annual selection by the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce.

• A pilot line for about 10,000 cups a week, under construction in Delft, with the goal of running by the end of 2026. Goal (details and source)

  This is a target, not current output.

• Our plan is our own production line for 1 million cups a week. We aim for the first cups at the end of 2028 and full capacity in 2030. Goal (details and source)

  This is a plan that depends on financing.

• The medicine cup will be followed by a lid, then larger cups and coffee cups, then small trays and kidney dishes. Beyond healthcare we aim to make the first products from 2029. Goal (details and source)

  This is an ambition. The order and timing after the medicine cup are not fixed yet.

• Two founders, five employees and two advisers. Our own data (details and source)

  This is the position as of October 2026.

• Our manufacturing process is at TRL 4 to 5, with TRL 5 targeted for early 2027. Our own data (details and source)

  This is measured against the bioprocess, not the product.

• The first licence is planned for 2030. After that, partners can build factories with our process, each with a line of 1 million cups a week. Goal (details and source)

  This is a plan, not an agreement. No licence exists yet.

• In the long term we want to make 100 million products a week, on our own lines and with partners. The medicine cup is where it starts. Goal (details and source)

  This is an ambition, not a forecast.

• We work with a wild-type bacterium that has not been genetically modified. We do not disclose which one. Our own data (details and source)

  The strain is a trade secret.

• Bacterial cellulose grows as a sheet on a still liquid. Large stirred tanks, as used in most fermentation, tear that sheet apart. So rather than using bigger tanks, we scale up by adding more trays side by side. Our own data (details and source)

  This is our own analysis.

• We also placed in the NL Startup Award and the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards. Source (details and source)

  Second place at the NL Startup Award. Third place in the Dutch final of the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards.

• We are supported by the City of Rotterdam (Circular Innovations) and Planet B.io. We also use the WBSO, the Dutch R&D tax credit. Source (details and source)

  This support has been awarded. We do not disclose amounts.

• Medicine cup from 2026 to 2028. Lid from 2028 to 2029. Larger cups and coffee cups from 2029 to 2031. Small trays and kidney dishes from 2031. Beyond healthcare we aim to make the first products from 2029. Goal (details and source)

  The years are not fixed yet. Only the medicine cup is in development today.

• Plastilose started in 2024 when Jason Smit, newly graduated, began experimenting, first in his own kitchen and then at BlueCity in Rotterdam. It was incorporated in December 2025 and is registered in Rotterdam. Its lab and office are at Biotech Campus Delft. Source (details and source)

  It began as Jason's own project, not as a university project.

Laws and regulations

• Under the SUP Directive, bioplastics such as PLA count as plastic too. That applies even if they are made from plants or are biodegradable. Source (details and source)

  Only natural polymers that have not been chemically modified fall outside the Directive. The European Commission guidelines are not binding.

• Since 12 August 2026 the EU Packaging Regulation has restricted PFAS in food-contact packaging. Source (details and source)

  This applies to food-contact packaging.

• Paper disposable cups often have a plastic coating to make them watertight. Under EU rules that makes them a single-use plastic product. Source (details and source)

  Applies to paper cups with a plastic lining or coating.