Inhabitants: 11,6 mio Area: 30.528 km2 NATIONAL WASTE SYSTEM – GENERAL LEGISLATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE Authorities for waste management and organic waste management (if different), and key contacts: Belgium is divided in three regions: Flanders (FLA), Wallonia (WAL) and Brussels (BRU). As waste management is a regional authority, each of these regions have their [...]
Biome Bioplastics and Futamura have partnered to demonstrate a range of bio-based and compostable multilayer films. The materials offer competitive performance, while tackling the negative environmental impact of traditional oil-based, non-recyclable multilayer packaging. Sustainable alternatives to challenging packaging formats such as multilayer pouches will be key to meeting the UK Plastics Pact target of 70% of plastic packaging [...]
The recent study “Land use mediated GHG emissions and spillovers from increased consumption of bioplastics” published by the University of Bonn calls into question the contribution of bio-based plastics to climate change mitigation. Although the study describes that fossil-based plastics are responsible for 15 percent of the global CO2 emissions*, it fails to acknowledge [...]
EP report ties in with provisions for feedstock differentiation and use of biodegradable and compostable plastics recently adopted in Waste Directive and Packaging Directive Berlin, 13 September 2018 – The European Parliament’s report on the European Strategy for Plastics adopted today by the plenary testifies to the increasing acknowledgement and endorsement of the value [...]
Berlin, 16 August 2018 - Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) succeeded in an interdisciplinary study to demonstrate that soil microorganisms metabolically utilised the carbon in the PBAT polymer both for energy production and also to build up microbial biomass. The researchers used the biodegradable [...]
Paola Fabbri, Associate Prof. of Materials Science and Technology and Maurizio Fiorini, Associate Prof. of Principles of Chemistry for Applied Technologies at University of BolognaAlma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna In each issue of the Bioplastics Bulletin, we present five facts about a member of European Bioplastics. This month, Paola Fabbri, [...]
Avantium N.V., a leading technology development company and forerunner in renewable chemistry, has started construction of a new demonstration plant that will help advance the production of bio-based monoethylene glycol (MEG) made directly from renewable sugars. As MEG is a component for making plastics, such as PET and – in the future- [...]
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: [...]
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 [...]
On 21 March 2018, Member of the European Parliament Franc Bogovič (EPP) hosted a breakfast debate on 'Biodegradable mulch films: Reducing environmental impact of plastics in agriculture‘. The aim of the workshop was to provide the EU institutions with scientific information about the technology of biodegradable plastics, in particular their benefits in agricultural applications [...]
