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 [...]
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 [...]
European Bioplastics (EUBP) now invites proposals for the 13th European Bioplastics Conference taking place on 4/5 December 2018 at the Titanic Chaussee Hotel in Berlin, Germany. 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 [...]
Research and Innovation at European level – driver for competitive and circular industry The biobased industry is a key driver of innovation in transforming Europe‘s economy into a more sustainable, circular, and resource-efficient bioeconomy. Public and private schemes fund the research and development efforts necessary to enhance our [...]
Constance Ißbrücker, Head of Environmental Affairs, EUBP The consequences of climate change and the finite nature of fossil resources constitute two broadly acknowledged challenges for society in the decades to come. Bioplastics, which are derived fully or at least in part from renewable resources, have the unique advantage over conventional plastics to [...]
The European Commission will increase the funding for research and development of innovative bio-based plastics and to further improve plastic recycling. During the press conference on the European Strategy on Plastics earlier this month, the Commission’s Vice-President Jyrki Katainen said: “we are also ready to finance or increase financing for new innovations in recyclability [...]
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation announced the winners of its $1 million Circular Materials Challenge at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The winners will join a 12-month accelerator programme working with experts to make their innovations marketable at scale. Among the winners are a number of innovative biopolymers and applications for bioplastics, including EUBP [...]
Companies in the food sector are increasingly looking for alternatives to conventional plastic packaging to reduce their CO2 footprint and are switching to packaging solutions made from renewable raw materials. A team at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands is studying the perceptions of bio-based packaging among consumers and aims to give manufacturers [...]
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 [...]
