Bioplastics Bulletin

As part of the Circular Economy 100 (CE100), an innovation programme of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a new report on Renewable Materials for a Low-carbon and Circular Economy has been published together with the companies and CE100 partners Essity, IKEA, Royal DSM and Tetra Pak. According to the report, renewable materials present significant market opportunities across the economy today and in the future, such as in the packaging, chemical, hygiene products and construction sectors. Further investment in new feedstocks and production methods could support the rapidly growing bio-industry. Full deployment of renewable materials can drive an innovation agenda and [...]

On 18 April, the European Parliament approved the package to update the EU waste legislation, including a revision of the Waste Framework Directive and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. Apart from new ambitious recycling and landfilling targets to boost the re-use of valuable materials in waste, the new legislation also acknowledges that bio-based feedstock for plastic packaging as well as compostable plastics for separate bio-waste collection contribute to more efficient waste management. The revised Waste Framework Directive allows biodegradable and compostable packaging to be collected together with the bio-waste and recycled in industrial composting and anaerobic digestion, which [...]

From 2023 onwards, separate collection of bio-waste will be mandatory across Europe in order to increase the overall amounts of separately collected waste and to help meet the ambitious recycling targets set out in the new EU waste rules. Yet, the separate waste collection systems (including for bio-waste) still vary widely among the 28 EU Member States, and the contamination of organic waste streams by non-compostable plastics is high and constitutes a real problem for composting facilities. To discuss effective solutions and share best practices, experts from policy, research, and waste management met at the 30th edition of the [...]

A report from bioeconomy consultants NNFCC has found that a paradigm shift from oil-based plastic to plastics produced from renewable materials and designed to be recyclable or biodegradable, offers the potential to address the issues with plastics while retaining its many benefits. Adrian Higson, Lead Consultant Bio-based Products at NNFCC said in an interview: “Bio-based plastics are far less carbon-intensive than oil-based plastics. Because they are produced from plants that have sequestered atmospheric carbon dioxide during their growth, they can help reduce carbon dioxide emissions associated with oil-based plastics.” At the same time, the introduction of biodegradable plastics can [...]

Registration is now open for the leading bioplastics event in Europe – the 13th European Bioplastics Conference taking place on 4/5 December 2018 at the Titanic Chaussee Hotel in Berlin, Germany. Register before 30 June 2018 and save up to EUR 300 with the early bird rate! This year’s conference will focus on advanced innovations in bioplastics as well as on environmental aspects and opportunities for growth. Experts are invited to submit proposals for a presentation on the following topics: bio-based and/or biodegradable polymers – latest material and process innovations, packaging innovations, especially food contact solutions, additives for biopolymers, mechanical [...]

NatureWorks names Richard Altice new President and CEO: On 24 April, NatureWorks' board of directors named Richard Altice as the company's new President and Chief Executive Officer, replacing Marc Verbruggen, who led the company from 2008 to his retirement in 2017. Altice comes to NatureWorks from PolyOne Corporation where he was Senior Vice President and President – Designed Structures and Solutions. NatureWorks was the first company to offer commercially available low-carbon-footprint bioplastics derived from 100-percent annually renewable resources. Recently, NatureWorks reached the milestone of two billion pounds of Ingeo™ biopolymer sold globally via its comprehensive portfolio of 33 grades, [...]