Total Corbion PLA, global technology leader in poly lactic acid (PLA), announced the launch of a novel technology that can create full stereocomplex PLA in a broad range of industrial applications. The proprietary technology enables PLA applications to withstand temperatures close to 200°C (HDT-A). The new stereocomplex PLA – a material with long, regularly [...]
Concerns about harmful chemicals, health and environmental effects lead more and more parents and toymakers alike to switch to high-quality, sustainable, and safe toys made from bio-based instead from petroleum-based materials. Next to a growing number of new start-ups developing bioplastics toys, big players such as Lego and Hasbro are also investing heavily in [...]
The Netherlands to ban oxo-degradable plastics: After France and Spain implemented actions in 2017 to limit the production, distribution, sale, provision and utilization of packaging or bags made from oxo-degradable plastics – conventional plastics that falsely claim to biodegrade – the Netherlands now, too, announced plans for a complete ban of oxo-degradable plastics. "A [...]
PHA from sewage sludge enters demonstration phase: The Phario project produces PHA at the biological sewage treatment plant in Bath, the Netherlands, which is run by the Brabantse Delta water board. The processes required for purifying sewage water breeds bacteria that can produce 0.47 grams of PHA per gram of organic matter in the [...]
Non-biodegradable cotton buds prohibited in Italy from 2019: Italy will be the first country to ban non-biodegradable plastic cotton buds as of 2019. The Italian parliament adopted a proposal on 19 December 2017 to only allow the production and sale of cotton buds that are biodegradable and compostable according to the European standard EN [...]
The new German packaging law (Verpackungsgesetz, effective from January 2019, we reported earlier this year) includes provisions under which the participation fees for packaging shall be adapted in order to incentivise the use of recycled and renewable materials. The consequential increase in bio-based plastic packaging and the expected rise of new types of materials [...]
Berlin, 29 November 2017 – The results of European Bioplastics’ annual market data update, presented today at the 12th European Bioplastics Conference in Berlin, confirm a stable growth of the global bioplastics industry. “The global market for bioplastics is predicted to grow by 20 percent over the next five years. The transition to a [...]
With growing market volumes of innovative bio-based and biodegradable plastics such as PLA (polylactic acid), the recycling of these materials is becoming a more viable option. We therefore spoke to Steve Dejonghe from Looplife Polymers Site, a recycler in Belgium that already successfully recycles PLA for a number of industrial projects, about the recyclability [...]
IKEA’s first large-scale bioplastic product: The popular re-sealable sandwich bag ISTAD is the first large-scale bioplastic product from IKEA. The bags are made from bio-based plastics derived from sugarcane where everything is either used or reused, so there is no waste in the production. IKEA estimates to sell 1.4 billion ISTAD bags this year, which [...]
Berlin, 17 October 2017 – Biodegradable plastics offer innovative solutions to improve recycling quality by facilitating the means for more efficient separate waste collection. This has been confirmed by a recent study jointly released by Corepla, the Italian Consortium for Collecting, Recycling, and Recovering Plastic Packaging, the Italian Composters Consortium (CIC), and Assobioplastiche, the [...]
