As we face increasing resource scarcity, we also throw away valuable resources each day in the form of waste. Such waste does not only impact ecosystems, it also signals a lost opportunity to draw more from available resources. In many cases, these waste materials could be reused to limit the stress on natural resources.Secondary materials [...]
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 [...]
Oxo statement, New Plastics Economy, 2017 Oxo-degradable plastics are being produced and sold in many countries, with society being led to believe they safely biodegrade in nature. Yet significant evidence suggests oxo-degradable plastics do not safely biodegrade but fragment into small pieces, contributing to microplastics pollution. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics [...]
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 [...]
Launched and adopted in 2012, Europe's Bioeconomy Strategy addresses the production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into vital products and bio-energy. The strategy is needed to ensure that fossil resources are replaced with sustainable natural alternatives as part of the transition to a low-carbon circular economy. Its main purpose is to streamline [...]
Test bottles made from PET © Synvina PEFerence, a €25 million EU project, was officially launched at the end of September 2017. The partners will be cooperating for the next five years to establish an innovative value chain for FDCA (2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid) and PEF (Polyethylene furanoate), including the intended construction of a 50,000 tons [...]
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 [...]
Biokunststoffe sind eine junge innovative Branche, die sich derzeit rasant entwickelt. Das wachsende ökologische Bewusstsein in der Bevölkerung sowie das Wissen um die Endlichkeit der fossilen Rohstoffe sind nur zwei der Faktoren, die ganz wesentlich zum Wachstum der Biokunststoffe beitragen. Immer mehr Unternehmen suchen nach innovativen Wegen, um der stetig steigenden Nachfrage nach nachhaltigen [...]
Biodegradable mulch film © European Bioplastics Berlin, 5 October 2017 – In the light of the upcoming vote of the European Parliament on the revision of the EU Fertilizers Regulation, European Bioplastics (EUBP), the association for the bioplastics industry in Europe, calls on the Plenary to confirm what has been approved by [...]