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After months of experimenting, a small family business at Silverdale thinks it has finally produced a biodegradable golf tee that will withstand the force of a swinging club.
Injection Moulded Plastics Industries is producing the tees, made from its own blend of material derived from corn starch.
Owners Hugh and Judy Field said they wanted to move away from plastics to environmentally friendly products, which already make up about 10 per cent of their business.
Their factory in Silverdale was producing biodegradable weed matting clips, supplied to local markets and exported to Australia, which would eventually decompose in the ground.
Mr Field said they would release only water and carbon dioxide as they deteriorated.
"There is no poison or residue."
He started looking at similar options for golf tees after a golfing customer asked if it was possible.
It had taken quite a bit of experimenting to create a blend that would make the tees strong enough to not shatter when they were struck.
Mr Field said the tees were about 50 per cent more expensive than plastic equivalents but he saw opportunities, as many golf courses, especially in Japan, banned plastic tees.
"Sometimes golfers don't pick them up and they litter the course and can damage mower blades."
Mrs Field said the raw material the company started with was made from corn starch, which was a renewable source and 100 per cent compostable.
But although it was strong it was too brittle when struck with something such as a hammer - or a golf club.
"We set about experimenting with other compostable materials with similar qualities and managed to formulate a blend we have registered under the name of Polymaize.
"This material can be used to manufacture most products which are currently made in plastic using the injection moulding process."
Mrs Field said there was potential to start making biodegradable pots for plants and similar products to reduce the amount of plastic that ended up in rubbish dumps.
