Earlier this month, Germany’s Bundesrat, the upper house of parliament, approved a new packaging law (Verpackungsgesetz) aimed at boosting recycling of packaging waste. It also stipulates that the systems collecting the waste fees are obliged to create incentives that encourage the use of recycled material or material from renewable sources for the production of [...]
Novamont, a leader in the development of bioplastics based in Italy, commissioned IGlux Witzenhausen GmbH and Witzenhausen-Institut GmbH to conduct a scientific study into the behaviour of biodegradable carrier bags made from MATER-BI – the bioplastic made by Novamont – in German anaerobic digestion plants. The use of biodegradable bags made from MATER-BI was tested [...]
This year’s interpack, the world’s largest trade show for packaging, stretching over a whole week from 4 to 10 May 2017, attracted over 170,000 visitors from 168 countries to the Messe Duesseldorf, Germany. Besides the latest developments in world-class machinery and technology for the production and of packaging materials, three major themes dominated this [...]
As set out in the amemdment of the EU Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste from 2015, the European Commission was tasked to assess the impacts of so-called “oxo-degradable” plastics on the environment and propose “a set of measures to limit their consumption or to reduce any harmful impacts“. To inform the Commission’s decision [...]
In a new fun video, German bioplastics specialist FKuR Kunststoff GmbH demonstrates the benefits of home compostable bags, which make the separate collection of biowaste more practical and hygienic, raising acceptance levels for the collection at home, and thus increasing the volumes of biowaste collected and the amount of valuable compost produced from it. [...]
Audi, BASF and Covestro develop automotive clearcoat with bio-based hardener: A project team consisting of employees of the car maker Audi, BASF´s Coatings division and materials company Covestro has developed a clearcoat containing a bio-based hardener that was applied to test bodies of the Audi Q2 under near-series conditions at the Audi plant in [...]
Earlier this month, the European Parliament plenary voted on the waste legislation proposal as part of the EU Circular Economy Package. With their vote, the Members of Parliament send a clear signal that reuse and recycling remain of paramount priority in the pursuit of an EU circular economy while at the same time strengthening [...]
Danimer Scientific and PepsiCo to Collaborate on Biodegradable Resins: Biotechnology leader Danimer Scientific and global food and beverage company PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) have announced an agreement that includes development of Danimer Scientifics’ biodegradable film resins to meet the sustainable flexible packaging requirements of PepsiCo’s global food and beverage business. The agreement includes the development [...]
Berlin, 14 March 2017 – European Bioplastics (EUBP), the association representing the bioplastics industry in Europe, welcomes the positive outcome of the European Parliament’s plenary vote today on the waste legislation proposal concerning the EU Circular Economy Package. The vote of the Members of Parliament recognises the contributions of bioplastics to the EU circular [...]
Spain announced plans to ban the sale of lightweight oxo-degradable bags from 2018 onwards under a new law drafted by the Spanish agriculture and environment ministry. The law implements an EU directive to reduce the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags. The draft also includes a minimum price on plastic bags above 15 microns [...]