UK Government may ban oxo-degradable plastics following consultation
The UK Government says it may introduce a ban on oxo-degradable plastics, following its consultation seeking evidence to develop standards for biodegradable, compostable and bio-based plastics. After having received 85 responses, it is now also exploring the issues that were raised in the government’s consultation on an extended producer responsibility scheme for packaging, as well as in its consultation on introducing greater consistency for household and business recycling collections in England, which will be published in ‘due course’.
New faster way to degrade compostable plastics using water and heat
At the University of California, Berkeley, scientists have invented a way to make compostable plastics break down more easily, with just heat and water, within a few weeks, solving a problem that has flummoxed the plastics industry and environmentalists. “People are now prepared to move into biodegradable polymers for single-use plastics, but if it turns out that it creates more problems than it’s worth, then the policy might revert back,” said Ting Xu, UC Berkeley professor of materials science and engineering and of chemistry. “We are basically saying that we are on the right track. We can solve this continuing problem of single-use plastics not being biodegradable.”
Chinaplas 2021 concludes with more than 150,000 visitors
Despite the lingering travel impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and a new exhibition venue, Chinaplas 2021 came within shouting distance of Chinaplas 2019’s attendance. Over four days, the industry event drew around 152,314 visitors to the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center. That was only roughly 7% less compared to 2019’s edition with 163,314 attendees.