bioplasticsMAGAZINE_0702
Vol. 2 ISSN 1862-5258
Special editorial Focus:
Bottles, Labels, Caps | 10
02 | 2007
bioplastics magazine
Bioplastics vs. agricultural land | 36
Logos, Part 4 | 38
Editorial
dear readers
Some 15 years ago, when the PET bottle really started to take off, the
arguments in its favour were obvious. Compared to glass, the plastic
bottles are lightweight, unbreakable and easy to carry because of their
neck-ring. PET also has certain environmental advantages too - the
lower weight reduces diesel consumption during transport, and PET
melts at a temperature significantly lower than glass, so using less
energy when bottles are initially produced and recycled.
And now one more point can be added to the list of arguments in favour
of plastic bottles. PLA, as an alternative plastic, is made from renewable
resources - mainly starch derived from corn, sugar cane, sugar beet
or even sweet potatoes. Not only is PLA made from products that can
be relatively easily grown and therefore readily renewable, but after its
initial use it can be recycled, composted under certain conditions, or
cleanly incinerated with energy recovery.
A number of beverage and dairy companies are evaluating the use of
this rather new material, or already use PLA for bottle applications.
The special editorial focus in this issue of bioplastics MAGAZINE is on
bottle applications, including the use of bio-sourced and biodegradable
labels and caps. We talked to five of the early pioneers that now use
PLA for their bottles, and asked them about their motivation, their
experiences and their future plans. All five still consider the decision
to go for PLA as the right one.
Those interested to learn more about PLA for bottles,
bioplastic labels and caps, or who wish to discuss
barrier issues, end of life options and many more
detailed aspects than are covered in this issue, are
cordially invited to the 1st PLA Bottle Conference
organised by bioplastics MAGAZINE. We are running the
two-day conference on the 12th and 13th of September in
Hamburg, Germany. Please visit our website for details.
Special editorial Focus:
Bottles, Labels, Caps | 10
02 | 2007
Vol. 2 ISSN 1862-5258
And in this, our fourth issue, you’ll also find more of the
latest bioplastics news, updates on materials, processing,
events and much more – and not only about bottles!
Michael Thielen
Publisher
bioplastics MAGAZINE
Bioplastics vs. agricultural land | 36
Logos, Part 4 | 38
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Content
June 02|2007
Editorial 03
News 05
Suppliers Guide 43
Events 45
Applications
Shrink sleeves 24
Non-wovens made from PLA 26
Mulch films made from PLA blends 28
Politics
What’s happening in the New World? 30
From Science & Research
Novel nanostructured polylactides 32
Protein-based plastics 34
Basics
Bioplastics vs. agricultural land 36
Logos Part 4: The Scandinavian „apples“ 38
Glossary 40
Review
PLA hot topic at PETnology Forum 42
Special
Five PLA bottle pioneers 10
Biodegradable caps 18
Processing
Blowing your own PLA bottles 20
Interview: PLA blow moulding 22
Impressum
Publisher / Editorial
Dr. Michael Thielen
Samuel Brangenberg
Layout/Production
Mark Speckenbach, Jörg Neufert
Head Office
Polymedia Publisher GmbH
Hackesstr. 99
41066 Mönchengladbach
Germany
phone: +49 (0)2161 664864
fax: +49 (0)2161 631045
info@bioplasticsmagazine.com
www.bioplasticsmagazine.com
Media Adviser
Elke Schulte, Katrin Stein
phone: +49(0)2359-2996-0
fax: +49(0)2359-2996-10
es@bioplasticsmagazine.com
Print
Tölkes Druck + Medien GmbH
Höffgeshofweg 12
47807 Krefeld
Germany
Print run: 5,000 copies
bioplastics magazine
ISSN 1862-5258
bioplastics magazine is published
4 times in 2007 and 6 times a year
from 2008.
This publication is sent to qualified
subscribers (149 Euro for 6 issues).
bioplastics MAGAZINE is read
in 80 countries.
Not to be reproduced in any form
without permission from the publisher
The fact that product names may not
be identified in our editorial as trade
marks is not an indication that such
names are not registered trade marks.
bioplastics MAGAZINE tries to use
British spelling. However, in articles
based on information from the USA,
American spelling may also be used.
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
News
New
bioplastic
bottles
with
pearl-lustre effect
Biopearls R.O.J. Jongboom Holding B.V. from
Zetten, The Netherlands is a company specialized
on tailormade bioplastics injection moulding compounds.
Remy Jongboom, Direktor of Biopearls
now introduced bioplastics bottles with a pearllustre
effect. The bottles are stretch blow moulded
from preforms made of a material that is based on
PLA.
“In a cooperation with the Technical University
of Eindhoven, The Netherlands, we could test the
processing of a new formulation of Biopearlscompounds,“
says Remy. “We extruded some sort
of tapes and found out, that, when stretched, the
mechanical properties of the tapes were significantly
increased.“
In cooperation with a company that makes preforms
and PET bottles Remy Jongboom manufactured
the first preforms and 0.5 Litre bottles with
the new Biopearls compound. These bottles had
such a good quality and beautiful appearance that
not long after the first customers asked Biopearls
B.V. for the supply of his new pearl-lustre effect
bottles. The material is a blend of PLA and other
bioplastics materials that is not as brittle as pure
PLA, so that the bottles feature a certain soft touch
effect. The majority of the mix is based on renewable
resources, as Remy puts it. “And not only is the
bottle made of this Biopearls compound, the cap is
injection moulded from a similar material with a
slightly different elasticity for a good seal.“
Ideal applications are the cosmetics and healthcare
sector, as Remy points out, especially for
those neat little bottles you find in hotel rooms.
Other customer requests target applications such
as paraffin oil (lamp oil).
Metabolix and
AMD announce brand
name Mirel TM
and publish an amazing Internet survey
Metabolix, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and Archer
Daniels Midland (ADM) headquartered in Decatour, Illinois, USA,
announced that they have named their Joint venture Telles TM , after
the Roman goddess of the Earth. Telles is now building its
first commercial scale plant for the production of PHA in Clinton,
Iowa, USA. This plant is expected to start up in 2008 and will
produce the corn-based polyhydroxyalkanoate at an annual rate
of about 50,000 tons.
The family of high performance natural plastics that are biobased,
sustainable and completely biodegradable, as the company
states, will be marketed and sold under the brand name
Mirel Natural Plastics.
Internet survey
In April of 2007 the US online market research firm InsightExpress
conducted a USA-wide online survey for Telles: Here are
some of the results in brief, detailed results and their interpretation
can be found at www.metabolix.com.
1. 72% of respondents do not know that plastic is made out of
crude oil/petroleum.
2. On average, respondents estimated 38% of plastic material
is recycled (the reality is less than 6%, according to the EPA
(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)).
3. Nearly 40% (38.1%) of respondents said plastic will biodegrade
under ground, in home compost, in landfills, or in the
ocean (plastic will not biodegrade in any of these environments).
4. After learning that plastic is made from oil and never biodegrades,
half (50.1%) of respondents stated they would be
likely or very likely to pay 5-10% more for a natural, biodegradable
plastic. Only 24% were unlikely/very unlikely to pay
this much more.
“Everyone knows about the reliance on oil and the impact that
petroleum use has on climate change,“ said Jim Barber, President
and CEO of Metabolix. “Similarly, people see a lot of plastic
waste in the form of litter. But the fact that so many people are
unaware that plastic is made from oil and that it will persist in
the environment for thousands of years, shows the need for education
about the impact of plastic on the environment and the
various alternatives made from renewable resources.“
www.biopearls.nl
www.metabolix.com
www.admworld.com
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
PLA bottle is used for
a Noble cause
Demonstrating its fresh thinking, Blue Lake Citrus
Products, LLC, Winter Haven, Florida, USA, has become
the first company to offer all-natural and organic juice beverages
in bottles made from NatureWorks TM PLA . Explains
Blue Lake president Wade J. Groetsch, the company selected
the bio-based resin from NatureWorks for the material’s
eco-friendly advantages. “We are always researching
new ways to reduce packaging waste and energy in the
production of packaging products such as our new bottle,”
he says.
Since last September, Blue Lake has offered its lines of
Noble All Natural and Noble Organics premium juices in a
clear, 32-oz PLA bottle molded by Consolidated Container
Corp. using an existing, custom mold. Dubbed the “E bottle”
by Blue Lake, the package provides a clarity comparable to
the company’s previous polyethylene terephthalate bottle,
as well as a sufficient oxygen barrier for the products’ 60-
day shelf life. Noble juices are cold-packed, so PLA’s lower
melt index is not an issue during filling. “However, we do
have to control the temperature of the transportation and
warehousing of bottles,” Groetsch relates.
Based on its 2006 sales, Blue Lake estimates that the
switch to PLA will save the fossil-fuel equivalent of burning
114,000 gal of gasoline and will save greenhouse-gas
emissions equivalent to driving a car more than 2.7 million
miles in the U.S.
www.bluelakecitrus.com
www.cccllc.com
This news was previously published in Packaging Digest,
Feb. 2007, © Reed Business Information
DuPont introduces
PLA modifier
FDA-compliant for food packaging
DuPont Packaging has announced expansion of
its DuPont Biomax ® Strong family of polymer additives
to include an FDA compliant grade for food
contact applications. Biomax Strong polymer additives
improve the performance of PLA packaging.
New Biomax Strong 120 is a polymer additive that
toughens PLA packaging materials while maintaining
compliance with food contact requirements in
the United States (FDA), and in Europe. A similar
additive was introduced in August 2006 for non-food
applications. Both grades of Biomax Strong provide
improved toughness performance with minimal reduction
in package clarity.
“Offering a food contact compliant grade of Biomax
Strong gives DuPont a way to help food marketers
take better advantage of an environmentally
preferred solution in packages such as clamshells
used in fresh produce sections,” said Shanna Moore,
global market manager for DuPont Packaging.
“We are firmly committed to developing sustainable
solutions, including solutions that improve the
performance of other sustainable offerings in the
market,” Moore said. “By improving the performance
of bio-based and biodegradable products, Biomax
Strong can help the packaging industry deliver
high performance at a competitive price.”
DuPont – one of the first companies to publicly
establish environmental goals 16 years ago – has
broadened its sustainability commitments beyond
internal footprint reduction to include market-driven
targets for both revenue and research and development
investment. The goals are tied directly to
business growth, specifically to the development of
safer and environmentally improved new products
for key global markets.
www.dupont.com
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Plantic raised
£20 million of
new funds
Development project for barrier
resins for plastic bottle applications
Plantic Technologies Limited, from Altona,
Victoria, Australia, a producer of starchbased
packaging, is pleased to announce that
it has raised £20 million of new funds on May
23 on London’s Alternative Investment Market
(AIM). Plantic will trade under the symbol
‘PLNT’
“The new funds will enable us to expand
our range of unique biodegradable plastics.
Our vision is for consumers everywhere to use
Plantic-based products that play a significant
role in reducing the world’s waste problem,”
said Grant Dow, Managing Director and CEO
of Plantic.
Plantic’s proprietary technology is based on
the use of high amylose corn starch sourced
from renewable resources that are not genetically
modifed.
Having developed the core formulations and
initial applications, Plantic aims further to
develop, commercialise and distribute Plantic
® by creating additional applications across
a variety of industry sectors. To that end, the
company has partnered with a number of
plastics and packaging companies jointly to
develop, commercialise and/or market a new
range of applications through its partners’
established manufacturing and distribution
channels.
Among others Plantic has a development
agreement with Visy Industries Pty Ltd in
Australia to develop barrier resins for rigid
injection stretch blow moulded containers
and bottles. The aim will be to use Plantic as
a barrier layer within multi-layer containers
(e.g. bottles and jars) for goods that require
protection from oxygen ingress or carbonation
loss, as in the case of carbonated beverages.
This would allow existing PET bottles
which require a barrier layer to be recycled
without the need first to recover the barrier
material which in itself is not recyclable.
www.plantic.com.au
“Bioplastics in Packaging“
Exhibition at Interpack 2008
Large group exhibition and stage programme announced
Bioplastics and biopackaging will be presented in a large group exhibition
at interpack 2008, to be held from 24-30 April 2008 at the Düsseldorf
Exhibition Centre. With a planned total exhibition area of 1,000 m 2 , the
exhibition space will be more than triple the size of the interpack 2005
„Innovationparc Bioplastics in Packaging“. The organising trade association
European Bioplastics is expecting more than 30 exhibiting companies
and 10,000 trade visitors to attend.
The event represents a global platform to showcase the progress of
the bioplastics industry. European Bioplastics is offering companies
from the entire value chain the opportunity to demonstrate their state of
the art technology development. This includes raw materials, products,
processes and machinery.
The attractiveness for exhibitors, trade visitors and media will be further
enhanced by an interesting supporting programme including podium
discussions and presentations. European Bioplastics will invite
politicians and industry and media representatives to discuss bioplastics
in the context of the sustainable development, climate change and
resource debate. Biobased and biodegradable plastics have shown a
boom-like development in compostable packaging and other applications
in recent years.
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bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
News
Potential of bioplastics – an Internet survey
The German Internet portal “plasticker – the home of plastics“ asks visitors on a monthly basis for their opinion
on different topical questions around plastics and the plastics industry. However this online poll is carried out in the
German language only.
In May 2007 the question was about the expected potential of bioplastics:
“How will demand for and production of bioplastics develop in the coming 10 years?”
A) They will substitute most of
today‘s commodity plastics
6
B) They will play a major role in
many application areas
56
C) They will remain niche
products
35
D) The hype, and with it the
materials, will disappear
3
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Here are the results:
The general attitude was one of cautious confidence. A
clear majority of those responding to the survey believe
that in the foreseeable future bioplastics “will play a major
role in many applications“. However only 6 percent believe
that bioplastics have the potential to replace today‘s mass
commodity plastics.
Another significant group, accounting for about 35 percent
of the replies, believes that bioplastics will not move
significantly from their current position as a niche product.
Those who think that bioplastics have no real future were
in a clear minority, at only 3 percent.
The online survey not only asked for the visitor‘s opinion,
but also wanted to know which sector of the industry they
were engaged in. Analysing the responses from this aspect
also produced some very interesting results.
In a nutshell* 74 percent of the raw materials sector
(which is made up of traders and distributors, manufacturers
and compounders, and plastics recyclers) expect a
significant increase in the share of the market taken by
bioplastics. 13 percent even went so far as to say that they
would ultimately hold a dominant position in the market.
This is probably because raw materials traders and manufacturers,
who are sitting at the beginning of the value
chain, have for longer been closely concerned with the
subject than, say, most converters. They have also been
forced to pay more attention to the subject of petroleum
reserves.
Amongst the suppliers of machinery about 50 percent expect
bioplastics to play a major role and 50 percent think
they will remain a niche product. Almost nobody thought
that bioplastics would disappear, neither would they replace
most of today‘s commodities.
The biggest group, i.e the plastics processors and converters,
making up 37 percent of all participants, is the most
sceptical. The responses were: A:0% / B:43% / C:55% / D:2%.
This could be put down to the fact that most of them have
had no practical experience with bioplastics and have not
been so closely concerned with the subject. Nevertheless
only 2 percent of them said that they saw no long-term future
for bioplastics
As this online poll was only carried out in the German language,
bioplastics MAGAZINE plans to expand the survey and
ask all our readers and visitors to bioplasticsmagazine.com
from around the world to respond to the same questions in
the English language. From the beginning of June until the
end of August you can give us your opinion on this question
at www.bioplasticsmagazine.com/poll
bioplastics MAGAZINE will publish the results of this global
survey in the next issue.
* all detailed results of the recent German poll can be reviewed at
www.plasticker.com (in German and English language).
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Standard products can be found anywhere,
but only at K can you find real innovations
– unique in variety and quality. 3,000
exhibitors from 50 countries provide a professional
pool of innovation, from which
you can create tailor-made solutions for
your business. Be inspired – and turn your
ideas into good business propositions,
face-to-face with the best in the industry.
K2007
International Trade Fair
No. 1 for Plastics and
Rubber Worldwide
Düsseldorf, Germany
24 – 31 Oct. 2007
MACHINERY
AND EQUIPMENT
SEMI-FINISHED PRODUCTS, TECHNICAL
RAW MATERIALS
PARTS AND
AND AUXILIARIES
REINFORCED PLASTICS
SERVICES
Messe Düsseldorf GmbH
Postfach 1010 06
40001 Düsseldorf
Germany
Tel. +49(0)211/45 60-01
Fax +49(0)211/45 60-6 68
www.messe-duesseldorf.de
Special
Five
PLA bottle
pioneers
BIOTA Brands of America, Inc. /
Planet Friendly Products
Telluride, Colorado, USA
David M. Zutler, Founder and CEO
Belu Mineral Water, London, UK
Reed Paget, Co-founder
and Managing Director
Ihr Platz GmbH + Co. KG, Osnabrück, Germany
Bernd Merzenich, former Consultant
now: Managing Director of
german bioplastics GmbH & Co. KG
Plus One Water, Inc., Montreal, Canada
Michael Keeffe, CEO
Naturally Iowa, LLC, Clarinda, Iowa, USA
William Horner, President
A
significant number of companies have launched beverages
in PLA bottles in recent years. bioplastics
MAGAZINE spoke to the responsible people at five of
the early pioneers in this field about their motivation, their
experience and their future plans.
Motivation
Being asked how they came to the idea of using PLA as a
bottle material, David Zutler of BIOTA said, that as early as
1996 he was already looking for a better material. In May
of 2002 he read an article in the local Telluride newspaper
how plastic bottles were helping to destroy the environment
of our planet. Just shortly after Cargill and Dow opened
their production plant for PLA in Blair, Nebraska, USA, he
and Planet Friendly TM Products, a bioplastics consultancy
firm also founded by him, contacted Cargill Dow (now NatureWorks
LLC) and with the support of Cargill Dow, Husky
and SIG Corpoplast they started the rollout of the World‘s
First PLA preforms, bottles, and labels with the intention of
“helping change the world as far as plastics is concerned,“
as David puts it.
A similar idea drove Bill Horner of Naturally Iowa, when
his company established the guidelines for creating a new
all natural or even all organic dairy company. In October of
2005 they saw a major shift in consumer demand for organic
products. “We decided to make a shift in our business plan
as well, and with regard to packaging we wanted to set ourselves
apart from all the others,“ says Bill, “and the only real
breakthrough in plastics packaging that we could see was
PLA“. Two years earlier they had contacted Cargill Dow, just
an hour and a half down the road, and enjoyed the benefit
of earlier experience gained with the help of BIOTA bottles.
Naturally Iowa uses Norland blow moulding equipment for
their in-house production of the bottles.
London (UK) based Belu Mineral Water is an environmental
initiative which contributes 100% of its net profits to clean
water projects. Working with the charity WaterAid, every bottle
of Belu water purchased in the UK provides someone in
India or Africa with clean water for one month. About five
years ago Belu contacted the Rocky Mountain Institute, an
environmental organisation in the USA. “I discussed with
them how to make a low impact bottle to create a more sus-
10 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Special
tainable product,“ says Reed Paget of Belu, “and they suggested
we use a sort of biopolymer“. As PLA was not ready
for commercial use in those days, Belu started the launch of
Belu Mineral Water with glass bottles. After the successful
launch of BIOTA, Belu finally introduced in May 2006 the Belu
PLA bottle, using preforms purchased from Planet Friendly
Products. The bottles are blown on SIG Corpoplast stretch
blow moulding machines and filled at Brecon Mineral Water
in a factory located near Llandeilo in South Wales.
To set up a socially responsible water company was the
idea with which Michael Keeffe of +1Water in Canada approached
co-founders Paul and David Smith a few years
ago. “We wanted to contribute 20% of our profits towards
water development organisations like WaterCan and Ryan‘s
Well Foundation in Canada and Operation Hunger in South
Africa,“ says Michael. These non profit organisations help
provide communities in need with access to safe, clean water.
“Unlike most people living in North America and Europe,
there are over one billion people in the world that do not
have access to safe drinking water,“ he adds. Within a few
months they found out about PLA and decided it would provide
the environmentally responsible component to round
out the socially responsible dimension of the product. With
the technical support of NatureWorks, Krones and Ben Benedict
at Iroquois Water +1Water was able to launch their PLA
+1 bio-bottle last January. +1 bottles natural spring water
from a family owned spring called “Bell Falls“ in Quebec.
Iroquois Water, use Krones equipment, to blow and fill the
bottles for +1Water.
Bernd Merzenich (today head of german bioplastics) has
acted as a consultant to different companies with regard
to the production and marketing of organic food for about
25 years. In recent years he has also been keen to use bioplastics
as a packaging material for organic produce. When
working for the German drugstore chain “Ihr Platz“, establishing
a new range of organic food products and natural
cosmetics, he came across the BIOTA bottles. He found
exciting the idea of using PLA as a packaging material for
a pilot project of wellness beverages with a strong appeal
to health and environment, which Ihr Platz was planning to
introduce. When Hycail (today with Tate&Lyle) could not con-
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2 11
Special
tinue their initial support Bernd started to cooperate with
NatureWorks, “from whom we received considerable support
towards sourcing and processing the material.“ The
Luxembourg based company Plastipak supplied the preforms,
made on Husky equipment, to the German mineral
water company Quellenhof who blow-moulded and filled the
bottles for Ihr Platz .
Planet friendly cap
Summing up the first part of our conversation, we can say
that all of the parties interviewed consider their decision regarding
the use of PLA as a material for their bottles as the
right one. David Zutler: “Absolutely the right decision. Petroleum
based plastics are one of the world‘s biggest problems.
Just look at some of the developing countries where
no recycling is in place for PET bottles and where they openly
burn their overloaded landfills.“ Bill Horner: “100 percent
the right decision. We are planning further products to be
packaged in PLA.“ Reed Paget: “Almost any analysis shows
that PLA is the most sustainable option.“ Michael Keeffe:
“At this point in time we are convinced it was the right decision.
We have outlets across three of the Canadian provinces
here, and we are about to expand to the west coast of Canada.“
And even though Ihr Platz recently discontinued selling
the Vitamore wellness drinks, Bernd Merzenich considers
the use of PLA as the right decision. Bernd: “It was good to
make a statement in favour of bioplastics and to be the first
on the German market. However, a drugstore chain is not
a food store and beverages in bottles with, at the moment,
limited barrier properties need a faster turnover.“
Labels and caps
How important are labels and caps from renewable resources
for the companies that sell PLA bottled products?
While the Vitamore and +1Water labels are made of paper
and therefore made from a renewable - and biodegradable
- source, BIOTA, Belu and Naturally Iowa are already using
PLA labels. +1Water is eventually planning to switch to PLA
labels.
When it comes to caps, it‘s the other way round. Ihr Platz
introduced the world‘s first compostable cap, made of
MaterBi which is partly sourced from renewable raw materials.
BIOTA is planning to roll out what David calls a planetfriendly
cap, made of 100% renewables and 100% compostable.
The resin composition is mainly based on PLA. This cap
will be available to other bottlers too, as David points out.
Reed says that “Belu will use a bioplastics cap as soon as
we can find one that will work with our product“. Naturally
Iowa is also interested in caps and “we‘ve been working with
a company in Japan who‘s developing a PLA-blend that will
work on closures,“ says Bill. He is confident of having one
next year. +1Water will move to biobased caps, as soon as
they are there,“ Michael points out.
12 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
12 - 13 September 2007
1st PLA-Bottle-Conference
possibilities | limitations | prospects
powered by
PLA (Polylactide), a compostable plastic made from renewable
resources such as corn, is a highly topical subject right now,
especially in the light of increasing crude oil prices. The stretch blow
moulded PLA bottles used by Biota or Natural Iowa (USA), Belu (UK),
Vitamore (Germany) and +1water (Canada), as well as reports in
the trade press, have aroused significant interest from the PET and
beverage industry.
Would you like to find out more about the possibilities, limitations and
future prospects of PLA for bottle applications?
That‘s exactly why bioplastics MAGAZINE is organising the 1st PLA
Bottle Conference on the 12 th and 13 th of September 2007 in the Grand
Elysee Hotel in Hamburg, Germany. This 1½ day conference offers a
comprehensive overview of today‘s opportunities and challenges.
Experts from companies such as Purac, Uhde Inventa-Fischer,
Natureworks, Netstal, SIG Corpoplast, Wiedmer, Treofan, Sidaplax,
SIG Plasmax, Doehler, Polyone, Ihr Platz, Coca-Cola, Interseroh, and
more, will share their knowledge and …
…on the afternoon of Thursday September 13th delegates will visit SIG
Corpoplast, the manufacturer of the stretch blow moulding equipment
that is used to produce for example the Biota and the Belu bottles.
€ 850.00
Sponsors
Supported by
There will be sessions covering:
• Raw materials, from corn to PLA
• PLA preform manufacture
• Stretch blow moulding of PLA
• Caps, labels, shrink-sleeves made
from biodegradable plastics
• Barrier solutions for PLA bottles
• Temperature stability of PLA
• Additives, from processing
agents to colorants
• Reports „from the market“
• End of life options, recycling, energy
recovery, composting
More information and registration:
www.pla-bottle-conference.com
Special
Planet Friendly TM bottle
The cost issue
“The higher price of PLA is acceptable to us and should be
acceptable to everyone because the planet is worth it,“ says
David Zutler. And he thinks that the majority of consumers
“who care“ think so too. Eventually, David is convinced, when
the economy of scale kicks in, the price of PLA will drop.
Reed Paget too believes that in the long run, the price of
PLA will come down while petrochemical plastics will become
more expensive. The environmental sustainability is
the starting point for Belu and Reed too thinks that some
consumers would accept a slightly higher price. “However,
we try to be cost effective as much as we can,“ he says.
“I really think the price is dominant and I would like to say
the environmental advantages would outweigh the price“,
says Bill Horner. On the other hand he considers that the
price of PLA today already is almost competitive with PET.
“The price for PET is going higher and higher, and although
we had a fight on the corn prices that was just temporary.
On a long term view the prices for starch are much more
stable“, he adds.
Michael Keeffe doesn‘t feel that the price is a super-critical
factor for the consumer. “As soon as it becomes clear
that it is an environmentally friendly bottle, that seals the
decision for most people,“ Michael explains. „We hope that
the increasing demand for sugar, for example for making
bio-ethanol, does not push the price of PLA up through the
roof, but as of now the price for us is workable“.
“We are talking about environmentally and health conscious
consumers who are willing to accept a premium price
for corresponding items,“ says Bernd Merzenich. “But you
really need a very clear communication strategy with these
products,“ he adds. “You need to be transparent and critical,
and clearly explain what is bio with these materials.“
Barrier properties and heat resistance
As how important do our interview partners consider enhanced
barrier properties and the heat resistance of PLA?
None of them is currently packaging products that need
a container with elevated temperature resistance. However,
all confirm that for certain applications such as hot-filled
juices etc. enhanced thermal properties will be needed.
When it comes to barrier, the picture looks different. Reed
Paget thinks that, as for other plastic materials, PLA also
needs an enhanced barrier. Michael Keeffe confirms this
thought, for their current product, flat water, improved barrier
properties will provide greater production and distribution
options. “For the long term viability of PLA for other
products, such as carbonated beverages or fruit juice, we
will also need a barrier against CO 2
and Oxygen“.
Bernd Merzenich: “PLA definitely needs to be improved
regarding its barrier properties and heat stability. For still
water the presently available level of material and technology
is OK, on the premise that the turnover at the point of
sale is sufficiently fast. But for more sophisticated uses in
the beverage and food industry we need material improvements
by developing new bioplastic compounds on the basis
of PLA, as well as by using additives, coatings or the like,
such as, for instance, the SIG Plasmax plasma coating process
or a bioplastic barrier resin for multilayer applications,
which has been announced by Plantic.“
Naturally Iowa, cold filling their products, are very satisfied
with the quality of the PLA they get from NatureWorks today.
Their milk is a short shelflife product and is sold through the
cold chain, so that up to now better barrier or temperature
properties have not been needed.
David Zutler however, is already active in this field. Together
with strategic partners Danimer, and the Australian
packaging and recycling group Visy, BIOTA is developing a
Planet Friendly bottle, that is made of PLA plus an additive
which enhances the elasticity properties, and will help provide
some additional properties as well. “Our goal is to have
such a bottle within the next six months, and in addition to
that, to have a bottle material with barrier properties even for
use with CSD (carbonated soft drinks) and resistant to water
vapour, heat, and O 2
ingress within a year,“ says David.
14 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Special
End-of-life options
There has to be a way for consumers, and recyclers to
easily tell the difference between biobased products and
petroleum based products. “All our bottles say Planet
Friendly. When the consumer, and recycler, see those
words, they know what they are,“ says David. “My number
one end-of-life option is what I would call reclaiming,“ he
adds. „Reuse or recycle to bottles or into other products
such as garden pots etc. And my second favourite is energy
recovery. PLA burns cleanly and can help augment the use
of fossil fuels (petroleum, coal, etc.) in power plants, helping
to generate greenhouse neutral energy and alleviate the
devastating problem of burning plastics in landfills.“
Reuse and recycle are also the preferred end-of-life options
for Reed Paget, making up the top four together with
composting/energy recovery, and with landfill as the last option.
Belu is currently working on life cycle assessments and
even home composting seems to be a viable option instead
of shipping the waste across town to a waste facility. “I did it
myself in my backyard,“ says Reed, “and if you know how to
do it, it works.“
“Our +1 bio-bottle is clearly stamped both with the number
seven recycling logo as well as the word ‚compostable‘ informing
consumers that they have disposal options, says
Michael Keeffe. +1Water is working (with a number of recyclers)
on a pilot project with a company called “Turtle Island
Recycling“ in Ontario focused on both bioplastics recycling
and composting. And when, after reuse or recycling, PLA
ends up in an incineration plant, because it‘s not petrochemical
based it is also more environmentally friendly as well.
Today, Naturally Iowa‘s percentage of the market is rather
small, so that the bottles end up in a landfill where they
degrade. But Bill Horner says that first attempts are being
made to set up industrial composting facilities.
Bernd Merzenich says: “To be pragmatic, just now I only
see incineration with energy recovery as meaningful. From
an LCA point of view I would favour thermal disposal, because
it generates CO 2
neutral energy. Last but not least,
looking at the present hype regarding biofuels, the aspect
of eco-friendly energy recovery from bioplastics should be
stressed: Bioplastics create a much higher added value
from agricultural raw materials than biofuels and can generate
a similar output of CO 2
neutral energy when incinerated
at their end of life.“ As soon as barrier properties and
heat resistance are improved, biodegradability as an option
will anyway become much less an issue, Bernd adds. “Personally
I don‘t believe in biodegradability unless it has practical
reasons,“ he says. “For instance when you pack fruit
and vegetables you can compost the waste together with the
packaging, or when bioplastic shopping bags are available
they can be used to collect and compost organic waste.“
Future prospects
BIOTA will remain a bottled water company, but Planet
Friendly is going to work with different manufacturers to
promote PLA and other bio-based packaging. “I would
rather help other manufacturers with the different additives
and different material properties that are being developed,“
David says.
Belu as well as +1Water have further projects on the drawing
board. However, “they are not too far down the road as of
yet“, Reed Paget points out.
“So far we just produce the 0.5 gallon milk bottles,“ says
Bill Horner, “but starting in June we are going to be bottling
milk in 10 and 12 oz. and possibly even 8 oz ‚grab-and-go‘
containers, and in the fall we start with a probiotic drinkable
yoghurt with an extended life that we are really excited
about,“ he proudly adds. All of the products will be packaged
in PLA, the single serve units with a PLA shrink sleeve.
Bernd Merzenich thinks that for many companies in Germany
it is a drawback to start using PLA as long as there is
only one supplier. First of all, if a company wants to introduce
PLA, they can‘t get the material, and secondly, no one
wants to rely on a single source. And David Zutler says that
governments should support companies that want to build
up production capacities.
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2 15
Special
Final remarks
David Zutlers says: “The big beverage companies in the world will not
convert to PLA bottles unless they are required to do so.“ They may be
pushed to do so because of economic advantages, or by law. “And governments
should consider, when the barrier and heat deflection problems that
we are working on have been solved, making the use of PLA or other biobased
packaging a requirement.“
Reed Paget wants to stress that all the companies involved today are really
pioneers that have taken a significant financial risk and that deserve to
be acknowledged and thanked. “Waste in our modern lifestyle is a growing
and significant issue, as is energy consumption,“ he says, “and biopolymers
are offering a way to maintain a fairly modern lifestyle with the prospect of
not leaving a legacy of pollution which the planet cannot sustain.“
Michael Keeffe is very excited about the potential for PLA particularly
given growing consumer demands for more environmentally sustainable
and socially responsible products. Our PLA water bottle is both of these,
a healthier choice for the environment and a healthier choice for the consumer
while helping others get clean water too:
Bill Horner is very happy “that we made the decision early on and have
stuck with it through all the research and development rollercoaster that
we‘ve been through. But it‘s been worth it all.“ Not only is Bill very pleased
with what they have achieved so far, they are also willing to share the lessons
they have learned with other dairy companies around the world.
Bernd Merzenich, with a very focused view on the German beverage
packaging situation, thinks it essential that government accepts PLA as
an ecologically favourable packaging material so that PLA bottles are exempted
from the mandatory deposit fee laid down in the German Packaging
Ordinance. “If this can be achieved, it will really be a breakthrough for PLA
because we then enter into a new environmental quality. That will make
PLA attractive for a mass market,“ he says.
The very final words in this talk with major bioplastics users are from
our cover-girl Janina (11). She says: “In school we learned that crude oil
is a limited resource and that alternative energies such as wind or solar
power can save oil. I didn‘t know that plastics were made from oil and I like
the idea that plastics can be made from plants.“ And her little sister Lena
(6) adds: “Michael Thielen said, microorganisms that live in the compost
heap eat the bioplastics. But I can‘t even imagine what microorganisms
look like!“
www.biotaspringwater.com
www.ihrplatz.de
www.belu.org
www.plusonewater.ca
www.naturallyiowa.com
16 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Biodegradable Plastics
in Packaging Applications
Early bird offer – book before
July 13, 2007 and save 10%!
see reverse for more details
Thursday, September 13
Friday, September 14
2007
Doubletree Hotel Chicago
O’Hare Airport – Rosemont
Chicago, IL, US
Commercially viable bioplastics for sustainable packaging applications
Two day IntertechPira conference plus half day pre-conference workshop
With presentations
from leading companies:
BioBag
BIOTA/Planet Friendly Products
Blue Lake Citrus Products
Ciba Expert Services
Clarifoil
Earthcycle
Environmental Packaging
International
EPI Environmental Products
Excellent Packaging & Supply
Gilbreth Packaging
G.S. Polymer Consultants
Innovia Films
Kraft Foods Global
Metabolix
Michigan State University
Microsoft
MonoSol
NNZ – The Packaging Network
Naturally Iowa
NatureWorks
Plantic Technologies
Whole Foods Market
Wild Oats Natural
Including presentations from:
Media Partner:
Plus!
Don’t miss the
pre-conference workshop on
Wednesday, September 12,
2007:
New Markets
for Bioplastics
Special
Biodegradable caps
Last year, in combination with the “Vitamore“
PLA bottle sold by the German drugstore chain
“Ihr Platz“, the Swiss company Wiedmer AG from
Näfels in the Canton of Glarus introduced the world‘s first
biodegradable closure for beverage bottles. Wiedmer AG
focuses on tooling and mould-making parts as well as the
production of injection moulded parts.
The BioCap ® is a 3.6 gram standard PCO-28 cap with
tamper-evident ring. The material is a compostable
Mater-Bi polymer from Novamont, Italy. The geometry of
the cap and the elastic Mater-Bi material allow the production
of a perfectly leak-proof bottle.
With oxygen permeability very much in mind Wiedmer
asked the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering
and Packaging IVV in Freising, Germany, to carry out permeation
tests. All BioCaps exhibited an oxygen permeation
rate of 0.035-0.039 (cm3/d bar) - a comparable HDPE
cap showed 0.027 to 0.032 (cm3/d bar). The tests were
performed in line with DIN Standard 53380, part 3.
Initially Wiedmer manufactured the caps on a two-cavity
prototype mould. They were totally satisfied with the
results and the very good processability of the MaterBi
material. Detlef Wellner, Marketing and Sales Director
at Wiedmer would like to stress that Wiedmer is grateful
to Novamont of their support in finding the right MaterBi
recipe, the mould design (shrinkage behaviour) and the
processing parameters. Wiedmer have now built a 16-cavity
production mould, that is currently on test. Wiedmer
manufactures the BioCaps on a Netstal injection moulding
machine. “And the caps were not exclusively developed
for the Vitamore bottle“ says Detlef Wellner, “anyone looking
for a compostable closure for PLA bottles can have
them.“
Wiedmer AG puts great emphasis on protecting the environment.
One example of ongoing production process
improvements is the successful reduction of the amount
of waste thanks to the recycling of injection mouldings.
In the manufacture of plastic closures the use of a hot
runner system has reduced waste to practically zero. The
consequence is that the energy required for manufacturing,
and the emissions produced, have been considerably
reduced. In addition, all injection moulding production
takes place within a closed loop system, including heat
recovery. This heat is then re-used for heating the entire
company site. Environmental protection, which has been
actively integrated into the optimisation of Wiedmer‘s operating
procedures by their employees, offers potential for
further cost reductions.
www.wiedmer-plastic.com
18 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Internationales Symposium
»Werkstoffe aus Nachwachsenden
Rohstoffen«
Internationaler Kongress
zu Pflanzenöl-Kraftstoffen
Europäische Kooperationsbörse
Fachtagung Biogas
www.narotech.de
Processing
Blowing Your Own
Reprinted in part with permission of Water Conditioning
& Purification Magazine, © September
2006. Any reuse or republication, in part or whole,
must be with the written consent of the Publisher.
Publicom, Inc., Tucson, Arizona USA
www.norlandintl.com
Article contributed by
Bruce Kucera,
Vice President of Norland
International Inc.,
Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
PLA Bottles
For the time being, PLA as a raw material
for bottle applications is suitable rather for
niche markets and certain filling goods than
for the big CSD (carbonated soft drinks) etc. But
even for such niche markets, supplied by small to
medium-sized bottling companies on-site manufacturing
of PLA or PET bottles has advantages.
Why take a do-it-yourself approach? Because it
pays!
Manufacturing your own bottles on site can yield
a dramatic cost-per-bottle savings, primarily by
cutting out the shipping costs. Current petroleum
pricing negatively impacts transportation costs,
of course. In some cases, bottlers can save up to
50 percent on their bottles by making their own,
Actual savings varies business by business, based
on distance from suppliers, and other considerations.
On-site manufacturing also helps alleviate inventory
problems. When bottlers make their own,
they minimize the required warehouse space. Additionally,
they eliminate concerns about the timing
of vendor deliveries. Preform purchase and
shipping issues, of course, remain the same.
Blow molding machines specifically designed
for use by the small- to medium-sized bottling
companies are now available. No longer are the
bigger operations the only ones who can benefit
from making their own bottles.
20 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Processing
PLA Bottle-making
The technology of PLA-preform making was described in bioplastics
MAGAZINE issue 02/2006. Here, we address the issues
involved in designing a blow molder capable of manufacturing
bottles from PLA preforms. We also look at the added benefits
to the bottlers who use PLA bottles in the business.
There is little difference between PLA and PET bottles in
terms of appearance and performance. In most cases, what
you can do with PET, you can do with PLA, including shape,
size, color and other design features. Customers will not know
the bottle is made of PLA unless you tell them. The difference
is found in material characteristics. Hence, the requirement
for PLA-specific blow molders, which must address special issues.
Traditional PET blow molders cannot handle PLA successfully.
The primary issue is one of material temperature, which
includes both preheating of the preforms before entering the
stretch-molding process, and subsequent cooling down of
blown bottles.
PLA preforms must be heated to approximately 75°C before
entering the stretch-molding process, as opposed to 100°C for
PET. At the higher temperature, PLA starts to shrink, so the
typical PET blow molder is problematic with PLA.
While PLA preforms heat up easily, the material is difficult
to cool down; bottle deformation results when they are not
adequately cooled before they exit the molds. Therefore, the
freshly blown bottles must be cooled down quickly before they
leave their molds. Consequently, special cooling techniques,
therefore, must be designed and built into each mold.
Additionally, precision process control over all heating lamps
and blowing sequences is a must. Fluctuation of a degree or
two either way leads to finished bottle quality issues. PLA‘s
temperature sensitivity also requires enhanced airflow to ensure
even heating in the heat tunnels. When multiple heat tunnels
are involved, it is critical to precisely compensate for potentially
different heat lamps and airflow so that bottles from
each tunnel are consistently heated for optimal performance
in the molds. This ensures a consistently high quality finished
bottle.
Precision control over air pressure and flows are equally
critical. This technology helps move PLA material down from
the preform‘s neck area to the bottom to make sure desired
thickness is achieved in the bottle from bottom to top.
Marketing benefits
From a marketing perspective, there are several
key advantages for bottlers to convert to
PLA bottles.
The first is product differentiation. Let‘s face it.
In the case of bottled water for example, there‘s
not much difference between one bottle of water
and another. Brand name, methods of water
purification, and price are points of differentiation.
PLA becomes another point to help bottlers
distinguish their product from their competition,
particularly those still using PET bottles.
The bottled water market often targets a demographic
that prides itself in healthy lifestyles.
Typically, this also includes environmental concern
and a proclivity for "eco-friendly“ products.
PLA offers a tangible environmentally friendly argument
for its use. There‘s publicity to be gained
and media attention to be earned by announcing
a switch to PLA and by promoting product as using
eco-friendly materials.
Following are points about PLA that capture
attention of the market, and result in legitimate
environmental benefits:
1. The production process of NatureWorks PLA
uses 68 percent less fossil fuel resources than
traditional PET plastics. NatureWorks has found
that producing 1,000 bottles from PLA resin requires
33 percent less fossil fuel resources and
emits 42 percent less greenhouse gases than
making 1,000 bottles from PET. (LCA Consultants
Report).
2. PLA is the world‘s first greenhouse-gasneutral
polymer.
Bottlers considering switching from PET preforms
to PLA must be aware that preform selection
and bottle design are critical to producing
high-quality bottles. Make sure your blowmolding
machine supplier approves your perform
supplier and bottle design for optimal performance.
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2 21
Processing
Frank Haesendonckx, Product Manager at SIG Corpoplast
answers a few questions about high speed stretch blowmoulding
of PLA-bottles.
bioplastics MAGAZINE (bM): Can PLA be blowmoulded on standard
equipment?
Frank Haesendonckx: Even though the processing of PLA preforms
and bottles can be implemented on “standard“ machines,
several aspects have to be taken into account to produce bottles
which meet the economical and industrial requirements.
bM: For example?
Interview:
PLA blow
moulding
The first PLA-bottle in the USA,
introduced by Biota from Ouray,
Colorado and the first one in Europe
from Belu, London, UK are stretch
blowmoulded on BLOMAX
machines from SIG Corpoplast,
Hamburg, Germany.
www.sigcorpoplast.com
Frank Haesendonckx: For example the preform geometry: The
behaviour of PLA is different from PET when stretching on a stretch
blow moulding machine. It is therefore essential to adjust the preform
geometry accordingly. We offer our Bottles&Shapes TM - expertise
to help customers design the optimal preform.
bM: What else has to be considered?
Frank Haesendonckx: For optimal preheating in the infrared
oven, the absorption behaviour of PLA requires additional “Carbon-
Black“ additives which are also used in PET. The industry already
provides biodegradable additives for this purpose. The transparency
of the bottle is not or only inconspicuously influenced. Low heating
temperatures are sufficient for PLA preheating. The heating profile
in the oven must be adjusted to the preform geometry and the material
properties.
bM: And what about the actual blowing process?
Frank Haesendonckx: The preblow-pressure for PLA stretch
blowing corresponds to the pressure required for PET. The starting
point for pre-blowing as well as the stretching rate must be adjusted
for PLA.
bM: We often hear about limited mechanical and thermal properties
of PLA bottles?
Frank Haesendonckx: The mechanical properties of PLA, which
still do not meet those of PET, can be compensated for via skilful
bottle design. For example, the stackability can be improved by an
optimized bottle geometry. The thermal properties of PLA can still
not be compared to PET. The bottle shrinkage which already starts
at 45°C can partially be improved by deploying a so-called “relax“
process.
bM: How do you see the future of PLA as a bottle material?
Frank Haesendonckx: PLA will be an increasingly interesting material
for stretch blow moulding due to the rising oil price in the
medium and long term. However, further improvements with regard
to raw material as well as thermal and mechanical properties are
essential.
The main areas of application are still waters, products with short
shelf life and products which are not hot filled.
Further applications are provided if the barrier properties can be
enhanced. A complete separation between material and product
is guaranteed via use of SIG’s PLASMAX inner coating technology
which enables packaging of sensitive beverages or food in PLA and
ensures product quality.
bM: Thank you very much
22 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
BIODEGRADATION PROCESS
EcoWorks ®
www.EcoFilm.com
info@CortecVCI.com
1-800-4-CORTEC
St. Paul, MN 55110 USA
© Cortec Corporation 2006
70®
100%
Biodegradable EcoWorks
Replacement for Plastic and Polyethylene
Up to 70% Bio-based With
Annually Renewable Resources
From thick rigid plastic cards to fl exible protective wrap,
EcoWorks ® 70 by Cortec ® Research Chemists offers universal,
biodegradable replacement to traditional plastic
and polyethylene films. This patent pending breakthrough
meets ASTM D6400 and DIN V 54 900. EcoWorks ® 70
does not contain polyethylene or starch but relies heavily
on renewable, bio-based polyester from corn. 100%
biodegradable, it turns into water and carbon dioxide in
commercial composting.
ioPlastic.indd 1
8/2/06 8:44:40 AM
Applications
Sustainable Shrink -
Solutions for the Shrink
Sleeve Label Market
Article contributed by
Plastics Suppliers,
Inc., Columbus, OH, USA
Apple juice bottle
sleeved with 50µ EarthFirst PLA
TDO shrink sleeve film; printed
by Folienprint, Germany
www.earthfirstpla.com
Today’s label market is facing challenges as well as
great opportunities. With a push on being “green” as
well as offering sustainable options, wouldn’t it be nice
to have an alternative shrink sleeve label that is compostable,
made from an annually renewable resource and reduces your
environmental footprint? To achieve that goal, EarthFirst ® PLA
TDO shrink sleeve label film is the solution. EarthFirst films
are as good and often times better than petrochemical-based
films when it comes to an economical environmental solution.
EarthFirst is a biopolymer film made from PLA resin. Biopolymers
are not new to the plastics’ industry. When they
were first introduced, the cost to manufacture them was prohibitive.
In the last five years, the cost has come down, making
it a viable film to manufacture. One of the most common
biopolymers used today is NatureWorks ® Polymer, made from
# 2 field corn.
The biopolymer shrink film, EarthFirst PLA TDO, has been
on the market since October of 2005. Plastic Suppliers, Inc
is the first company to manufacture this sustainable shrink
film alternative changing the shrink sleeve label market. With
impressive mechanical and thermal properties, EarthFirst
shrink films are available as a viable replacement for most
petrochemical-based shrink sleeve films.
EarthFirst has many attributes that make it attractive to
the shrink sleeve label market. EarthFirst has a natural dyne
level of 38, is clear and rigid, and has direct food contact compliance.
It shrinks at a lower temperature than for instance
PET and is capable of shrinking up to 75 percent In addition,
EarthFirst shrink sleeve film can be stored up to 40° Celsius.
Therefore this film is extremely stable and can perform on all
types of shrink label tunnels regardless if steam or hot air is
used. All of these features and a great upside; it’s made from
corn, an annually renewable resource.
Plastic Suppliers, Inc. is committed to a strong environmental
leadership role in protecting our planet. The world is going
“green” and the trend toward biopolymers and environmentally
friendly films continues to expand. Nationally, Plastic
Suppliers and its’ European subsidiary Sidaplax play active
24 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
oles as members of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition
(SPC), European Bioplastics, Belgian Biopackaging
and UK compostable group. EarthFirst has been
certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute and
DinCertco stating it is a compostable film under the
ASTM 6400 and EN 13432 standards. Plastic Suppliers
is committed to understanding the impact of such
products upon the environment and will continue to
seek out opportunities to participate in environmental
research and associations to create an understanding
of how biopolymers may be used in the future. There
are many different biopolymers out in the marketplace
today that are produced by various manufacturing
means. The revolutionary EarthFirst TDO is the only
film targeting the shrink sleeve label market. It is paving
the way in this high profile industry.
Soda drink bottle sleeved by
PackStar, USA for Plastic Suppliers
Inc. with a 50µ EarthFirst PLA TDO
shrink sleeve film.
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2 25
Applications
Talud
protection
Biodegradable non-wovens
made from PLA
DS Technical Nonwovens, a Belgian company based
in Flanders, offers Hortaflex ® , a biodegradable
non-woven with or without the inclusion of (grass)
seeds. The non-woven is used as agro, geo or horticultural
fibre fleece. It can be used as protection against erosion of
slopes, battering, and as landscape protection. DS Technical
is currently looking for customers interested in further
developing the possibilities of this new biomaterial.
Soil and root protection
The new product is a fully biodegradable non-woven made
of PLA fibres and is an answer to various EU regulations (e.g.
Kyoto, REACH, reduced use of herbicides, etc.). Originally it
was developed for the carpet and technical textiles industry.
The production process has been developed in-house.
The non-wovens can be offered with different properties:
mass per unit area (from 120g/m² up to 1.5 kg /m²), needlepunched
or not; structured and calendered. Also tenacity,
elongation or other mechanical properties can be varied.
Other options are the introduction of additives, lamination,
etc. The recently-developed biodegradable non-woven has
been used as a base for the new product, and the process
has been adapted to include (grass) seeds. First tests show
that the results when growing grass were better than when
using carpets with a cellulose base, which is a promising
sign for other applications. First ideas for possible applications
of this product are as a substitute for non-biodegradable
products such as the plastics materials that are used to
avoid weeds, etc. It offers a good alternative to the existing
mulch-mats - certainly where weight becomes important
(e.g. roof gardens). On the other hand other applications
also appear possible (e.g. the building sector). As a result
the company is looking for new applications for this nonwoven,
which it would be pleased to develop in collaboration
with customers.
dirk@dstextileplatform.com
26 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Bio-plastics for
BIO CAPS
• Made from wheat, corn and
potatoe starch
• Compostable
• Biodegradable
NEW!
Wiedmer AG · Am Linthli 2 · 8752 Näfels · Switzerland
Phone: ++41 (0)55 618 44 99 · Fax: ++41 (0)55 618 44 98 · info@wiedmer-plastic.com · www.wiedmer-plastic.com
Incorporating the 2nd global
Bioplastics Awards
Recognising innovation in bioplastics
Don’t let your company miss out. Email
chris.smith@emap.com for full details and entry pack.
Book before 20th July to
receive a Super Early Bird
Discount of €250 plus
a further €100 off!
Performance Through Innovation
With growing emphasis on sustainable manufacturing,
bioplastics certainly have a role to play in the future of
the plastics industry. But there are always questions.
What materials are available? How do they really
perform? What are the real environmental and
financial costs? What are the end-of-life options?
How can bioplastics fit into existing waste
management programmes?
5-6 December 2007 - Frankfurt, Germany
The Bioplastics conference is the place to find
out the answers to these and all other questions.
The programme is assembled by plastics industry
professionals for buyers, processors and users of
plastics, and will be launched in full later this year.
However, if you book your place now, you can
take advantage of a saving of €350.
The worlds longest running independant Bioplastics
conference - now in its 9th year
To register -
Tel: +44 (0)20 7841 4811 (International)
0845 056 5069 (UK Only)
Email: EPNconferences@emap.com EPNJUNAD
Applications
Article contributed by
Patrick Zimmermann,
FkuR Kunststoff GmbH,
Willich, Germany
Compostable
mulch films
made from
PLA blends
www.fkur.com
www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de
www.oerlemansplastics.nl
FKuR Kunststoff GmbH of Willich, in cooperation with
the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT, has developed and
brought to market the first compostable mulch film
based on a PLA blend. The PLA blends used are a mixture of
PLA (polylactide) and further biodegradable polymers plus additives.
Industrial production and application testing of the PLA
mulch films have been carried out by Oerlemans Plastics B.V.
of Genderen in the Netherlands. In comparison to other biodegradable
films this novel bio mulch film has the significant
advantage of degrading more slowly and being less sensitive to
climatic variations.
In 2004 FKuR had already initiated the first tests for biodegradable
mulch films. The degradation behaviour of the film
under “open-air conditions“ was assayed in laboratory tests.
Since 2005 the industrial application of the film has been carried
out together with Oerlemans Plastics. A crucial factor that
persuaded Oerlemans Plastics to go for the FKuR PLA mulch
film was, amongst others, the problem-free processing of the
film on conventional extruders, as used in the production of
LDPE films. In the run-up to industrial production the application
of the Bio-Flex ® mulch film was successfully tested on
various crops by several European research institutes and experimental
stations.
Since 2005 the compostable PLA mulch films have been
tested worldwide on a variety of crops in several climates.
The crop yield with this biofilm is comparable to conventional
mulch films made from PE. The PLA mulch films are laid out
using conventional laying machines without any difficulty. An
important advantage in comparison to other biofilms based on,
for example starch, lies in the considerably slower degradation
of the film and its resistance to climatic variations. A further
advantage of the application of bio mulch films for agriculture
is that the film can be easily ploughed in after harvesting, and
continues to degrade in the soil. The application of Bio-Flex
mulch films reduces the amount of work and the costs of disposal.
The granules and the film are fully compostable according to
EN 13432. Additionally they are certified in accordance with to
DIN Certco, OK Compost, NFU 52001 and Ecocert.
28 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
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Politics
What’s happening in the
www.bpiworld.org
www.biocycle.net
www.findacomposter.com
www.beps.org
Article contributed by Steven Mojo,
Executive Director of the
Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI),
New York, NY, USA
It is truly a new world in North America, as the
pace of organics diversion continues to increase.
Discussions around the issues of sustainability,
increasing use of renewable resources
and greenhouse gas reductions are coming to the
forefront.
Retailer Concerns about Packaging
In late 2005, Wal-Mart announced its sustainability
drive focused on three aggressive goals:
1. “To Be Supplied 100% By Renewable Energy”:
2. ”To Create Zero Waste”:
3. ”To Sell Products That Sustain Our Resources
& Environment”:
As part of this effort, Wal-Mart has developed a
“scorecard” for packaging and is asking suppliers
to document the use of recyclable and compostable
packaging (via ASTM D6400) and to verify the
use of renewable feedstocks (using ASTM D6866).
This scorecard came on-line in March 2007 and
manufacturers will be feeding it data throughout
this year.
Wal-Mart’s efforts, like Sainsbury’s in the UK,
call attention to the growing array of new materials
available to packagers around the globe. At the
same time, packagers are starting to inquire about
BPI certification and the benefits of the BPI Compostable
Logo. Also, manufacturers are striving to
increase the percentage of renewably based materials,
in order to help reduce their environmental
footprint and earn credits from Wal-Mart.
The BPI and its members are immersed in the
issues of renewable resources, compostability and
biodegradability for almost a decade. As such, they
are in a position to help Wal-Mart and others understand
the importance of using ASTM Test Methods
and Specifications for verifying claims.
This project is a “work in progress”. It will continue
to evolve as technology and properties improve
and importantly will impact suppliers, consumers
and everyone in between.
30 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
New World?
New Legislation in California
California continues to set the pace in the area of
compostables. Last year, Governor Schwarzenegger
signed labeling legislation which restricts the
use of the terms “biodegradable”, “compostable”
and “degradable” on plastic food containers to
only those products that meet ASTM D6400. This
legislation is similar to the one passed in 2004 for
labelling on plastic bags. Both of the new laws
are designed to address the abuse and misuse of
these terms and the resulting confusion.
New Ordinances in San Francisco
In 2006, San Francisco passed ordinance No
295-06 which bans the use of polystyrene food
service packaging and mandates the use of compostable
or recyclable alternatives, if their additional
costs are within 15% of non-compostable
or non-recyclable alternatives. This ordinance
is designed to help minimize the waste going to
landfills from these operations. Also, this ordinance
takes advantage of the City’s well developed
recycling and composting infrastructure for
businesses and households.
On March 27, 2007, San Francisco passed an
ordinance mandating the use of compostable
plastic bags or recyclable kraft paper bags by
large food chains and pharmacies. Given the city’s
widespread organic collection system, the compostable
bags can serve two purposes. First they
will bring home the groceries and then will have
a second life as a liner for residential “kitchen
catchers”. The new law takes effect by the end of
this year.
Food Scrap Diversion Programs Grow
More communities, especially in Eastern Canada
and on the West Coast are implementing food
scrap diversion efforts. Portland (Oregon) and
Seattle (Washington), join the ranks of San Francisco
and Oakland, (California) in implementing
commercial collection programs and in some
communities’ residential ones as well. In the
Canadian province of Ontario organics diversion
efforts are beginning to “skyrocket” according to
one BPI member.
These are driven by the dual goals of continuing
to increase the overall diversion rate from landfills
as well as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
from landfills. For example, in the US, landfills
are the single largest of anthropomorphic
methane releases into the atmosphere, according
to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Further
the same study shows that landfills are the
number 4 contributor of global warming gases.
Findacomposter.com introduced
The BPI and BioCycle magazine from Emmaus
(Pennsylvania) are joint sponsors of a
new website dedicated to increasing the awareness
of composting in the US. The new site
“findacomposter.com” was debuted in April 2007
at the BioCycle West Coast Conference in San Diego
(California). The site will provide consumers
information about food scrap collection programs
near them and will be available for all to use at
no charge. Composters can participate at no cost
and all entries will be verified by BioCycle. The BPI
and its members are proud to be the first sponsor
to support this effort and to help put composting
on the map.
The BPI and BEPS team up on
a meeting in October, 2007
The BEPS and BPI are jointly sponsoring a
conference from Oct. 17-19th in Vancouver,
Washington. This meeting will combine presentations
and discussions on biodegradable and
renewable materials from both academia and
industry. Presenters are being lined up from
North America, Europe and Asia. The conference
will be a “zero waste” event. It is being held at
the Hilton Hotel, which has been cited for sustainable
practices and it will have an active food
scrap diversion effort by the end of the summer.
Learn more about the conference at beps.org
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2 31
From Science & Research
Novel Nanostructured
Crosslinked
hyperbranched
polymer (HBP)
Fig 1: Transmission electron photomicrograph of modified PLA
showing nanoscale dimension of crosslinked HBP i.e. < 100nm
(stained dark phase). Scale bar: 100 nm.
95 wt.% Modified PLA
+ 5 wt.% Talc
98 wt.% Modified PLA
+ 2 wt.% Organo-clay
Modified PLA
Unmodified PLA
3,2
3,2
3,2
3,5
4
37
83
104
Tensile Modulus
(GPa)
Elongation at
break (%)
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Fig 2: Tensile properties of hyperbranched polymer modified PLA,
its organo-clay based nanocomposites and talc filled composites.
Renewable resource based bioplastics
are the next generation of materials,
which are expected to play a major
role in building of a sustainable bioeconomy.
Polylactide (PLA) is a renewable resource
based bioplastic. However, the inherent
brittleness (poor elongation at break and impact
strength) of PLA poses considerable scientific
challenges and limits its large-scale
commercial applications. Numerous approaches
such as plasticization, blending with
tough polymers and elastomers have been attempted
to overcome its brittleness however
with huge sacrifice of strength and modulus of
the polylactides.
At Michigan State University, recently new
polylactide based materials having unique
stiffness-toughness properties were invented
by the authors. The research was focused on
exploring the role of emerging hyperbranched
polymers in modifying the PLA base resin. Hyperbranched
polymers (HBP) are considered
as mutant offspring of dendrimers. The nanoscale
dimensions, unique physical and chemical
properties of HBP make them a unique
design tool for tailoring the material properties.
Hydroxyl functional aliphatic polyesters
are HBPs that consist of a polyalcohol core
from which branches extend, forming a coreshell
structure. These HBPs can have abundant
hydroxyl groups on their periphery leading
to their high surface functionalities .
This research is based on creating new nanoscale
hyperbranched organic particles in
a PLA matrix (Biomer ® L9000 from Biomer,
Germany) during industrially relevant melt
processing. In this approach, a commercially
32 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
From Science & Research
Polylactide Bioplastics
for Multifarious Applications
Article contributed by Dr. Amar K. Mohanty,
associate professor and Rahul Bhardwaj,
PhD student, both at School of Packaging,
Michigan State University, East Lansing,
MI, USA
available hydroxyl functional hyperbranched
polymer (BOLTORN TM H2004 from Perstorp,
Sweden) was selectively in-situ crosslinked
with a polyanhydride (PA-18, LV from Chevron-
Phillips, USA) in the PLA matrix by reactive extrusion.
There was formation of a novel nanostructured
polylactide based two-phase system
(Figure 1), in which crosslinked HBP particles
were present in nano-domains (< 100 nm). The
modified PLA, having 90-92 weight-% of pure
PLA, exhibited an improvement in elongation at
break of about 800-1000% with minimal sacrifice
of tensile strength and modulus.
The findings showed that such a modified
PLA bioplastic material can act as an ideal matrix
for nano-clay or talc as well as natural fiber
reinforcements leading to the development
of many PLA based materials with attractive
properties. Figure 2 represents the tensile
properties of such a modified PLA, its organoclay
(Southern Clay Products, USA) reinforced
nanocomposites and talc (Luzenac, USA) filled
composites. The modified PLA surprisingly exhibited
20 and 25 fold improvement in elongation
at break on specific loadings of nanoclay
and talc particles. These findings also revealed
that the modified PLA can act as an additive for
the dispersion of nanoclay in polylactide based
nanocomposites. The potential impact of this
research on PLA can lead to the enhancement
of its stiffness-toughness balance, improved
melt strength, tailored melt viscosity and ease
of processing, which can be exploited in a variety
of products and processes. This research
is financially supported by the US National Science
Foundation- Division of Design, Manufacture,
and Industrial Innovation (NSF-DMII)
program.
www.egr.msu.edu/cmsc/biomaterials
105x148_bioplastics www.msu.edu/~mohantya/
MAG_4c 16.05.2007 12:49 Uhr Seite 1
www.packaging.msu.edu/Mohanty.php
Organizer
NürnbergMesse
Tel +49 (0) 9 11. 86 06-0
info@nuernbergmesse.de
www.brau-beviale.de
C M Y CM MY CY CMY K
Note the date!
Nuremberg, Germany
14 – 16.11.2007
47. European Trade Fair
for the Beverage Industry
2007
Raw Materials – Technologies –
Logistics – Marketing
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2 33
From Science & Research
Protein-Based Plastics and
The adoption of protein-based plastic by industry
has been slow for several reasons; principal among
them are costs of raw materials, limited thermalmechanical
strength, and solvent sensitivity. There are,
however, strong reasons for using protein-based plastics,
including the reduction of petrochemical dependence as
well as the reduction of greenhouse gases and other environmental
impacts, such as landfill usage. In addition,
the poor properties can be significantly enhanced with
appropriate additives and through careful processing
techniques. For these reasons there is a renewed push
for industry to seriously consider the adoption of proteinbased
polymers for many existing applications which use
petroleum-derived plastics.
Article contributed by
David Grewell, Dpt. of Agricultural
and Biosystems Engineering;
Michael Kessler, Dpt. of Materials Science
and Engineering;
William Graves, Dpt. of Horticulture; all from
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
www.egr.msu.edu/cmsc/biomaterials
Fig 2: Plant pots formulated from Zein (left)
and petrochemical plastic pot
Additives and Processing
Proteins in their native state can be resilient, strong,
and low density macromolecules, as evident by several
biological protein structures, such as bone and hair.
However, to utilize the proteins, their structure must fist
be partially broken down during processing and reformed
to a new structure. As such, the thermal-mechanical
and water absorption properties of protein-based plastics
depend heavily on several factors, such as the plasticizers
used (e.g., glycerol, ethylene glycerol, butanediol,
sorghum wax, ethanol and sorbitol), the addition of
cross-linking agents (e.g., zinc sulfate, acedic anhydride,
formaldehyde), and processing parameters (e.g., extrusion
pressure and temperature and initial moisture content).
Reduce Moisture Susceptibility
Work at Iowa State University (ISU) is under way to
characterize these protein derived polymers and evaluate
various treatments and formulations to enhance
their properties. For example, it is now understood that
the addition of selective salts, such as zinc stearate and
zinc sulfate, can reduce the water sensitivity of plastics
derived from soybean proteins. In addition, it has been
demonstrated that thermal treatments (ranging from 80
to 120 °C) can reduce the susceptibility of these plastics
to water. Soy plastics were also co-blended 50:50 with
polycaprolactone (PCL), a biodegradable polyester, in order
to reduce water absorption.
Figure 1 shows that the control sample, untreated
soy plastics, absorbs over 150% water by weight
within a few hours. It is also seen that by heat
treatment the water absorption decreased
significantly after 24 hrs. However, the largest
improvement was seen when the soy plastic was
blended with biodegradable PCL, where the water
absorption was less than 20% even after 24 hrs. of
exposure. It is believed that the relatively water insoluble
PCL formed a continuous phase within the
blend and shrouded the soy plastic from the water.
This allows the PCL to reduce water exposure of the
soy plastic thus reducing the overall water sensitivity.
While the addition of 2 parts of zinc stearate and zinc
sulfate did reduce the water absorption, the reduction is
limited compared to heat treatment and co-blending with
PCL.
34 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
From Science & Research
Applications
Nano-Clays and Foamed Structures
Other mechanical, thermal, and physicochemical property
enhancement techniques being investigated at ISU
include the use of high powered ultrasonics to promote
exfoliation of nano-clays. These polymer-layered silicate
nanocomposites can have enhanced vapor barrier properties,
further reducing water absorption, while simultaneously
increasing tensile modulus and strength and
heat distortion temperature.
Fig 3: Natural fiber reinforcement
200
In order to overcome the issues related to costs of raw
materials, researchers at ISU are working with Trexel
Corp. (Woburn, Massachusetts) to characterize foamed
substrates. It is expected that these materials will reduce
the raw material requirements while maintaining
mechanical strength.
Potential Applications
Resulting data from this work were used to formulate
selected grades and processing conditions for application
studies. In two initial application examples, Creative
Composites (Brooklyn, Iowa), and Vermeer Manufacturing
Co. (Pella, Iowa) are supplying materials to evaluate
their use for selected products, including hay bale sealing
films and locomotive grease applicators.
Some studies have shown that water resistant films
formulated from Zein, a protein derived from corn, can be
formed as thin as 100 μm. The films are flexible and relatively
strong. Currently, processing and characterization
tests are being performed with these films.
Other applications include bio-degradable pots for
plants. The photograph (Fig. 2) shows a pot formulated
from Zein (left) next to a conventional petrochemical plastic
pot (right). Other formulations include the reinforcement
of the Zein polymer with natural fibers (Fig 3).
While this research is in its early stages, the preliminary
results are promising. It has already been shown
that the water sensitivity of soy protein plastics can be
decreased through simple blending or heat treatment.
Similar enhancement in mechanical properties and cost
with the incorporation of exfoliated clay platelets and
Zein-based proteins is expected. The authors would like
to gratefully acknowledge the Grow Iowa Value Funds for
supporting this work, as well as Zein Corporation, Trexel
Corporation, Creative Composites, and Vermeer Manufacturing
Co.
Moisture absorbition (%wt)
150
100
50
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Fig 1: Moisture absorption
over time
Time (hrs)
Fig 4: Reinforcing rib structure
Control
ZnS=4
Zinc Steartate
80 °C
100 °C
120 °C
PCL Coblend
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2 35
Basics
Bioplastics vs.
Agricultural Land
Calculations, estimates,
assumptions and conclusions
How much bioplastics do I get from agricultural land?
How much bioplastics can be obtained from 1 hectare of land? Differ
ent figures are available to answer this question. We look at just three
bioplastics as examples.
PLA:
There is a lot of confusion about the
amounts of bioplastics that can be
obtained from a given quantity of
agricultural crops, and how much of these
agricultural crops can be harvested from
a given agricultural area. And last but not
least: Is there enough agricultural land
available to grow crops for bioplastics?
This article can be regarded as a first
attempt to shed some light onto this
confusion, although the considerations
are very much simplified in order
to arrive at an initial overview. As with
other articles in this „Basics“ section of
bioplastics MAGAZINE, experts in the aspects
discussed here are expressly invited
to share their knowledge. Please contact
the editor. We will assemble all of the information
received and present an update
in one of the following issues.
Sources
[1] FAQ at www.natureworksllc.com
[2] University of Nebraska (www.ianrpubs.
unl.edu/epublic/pages/publicationD.
jsp?publicationId=144)
[3] Personal information, Erwin Vink,
NatureWorks
[4] The Concept of Novamont‘s Biorefinery
integrated in the Territory, Catia Bastioli,
Novamont, Brussels, Nov. 2006
[5] National Corn Growers Association
(www.ncga.com/CYC/Winners/national.asp)
[6] Fachagentur nachwachsende Rohstoffe,
brochure: „Bioplastics – Plants, Raw Materials,
Products“ (www.fnr-server.de/pdf/literatur/pdf_237bioplastics2006.pdf)
[7] Personal information, Brian Igoe, Metabolix
[8] D. Bockey, UFOP, based on information
from the Bayerisches Staatsministerium für
Landwirtschaft und Forsten (in Bioenergie
- ein Markt der Zukunft, TTL Jena, A. Vetter,
2006)
[9] www.european-bioplastics.org
The FAQ page at natureworksllc.com reports that on average, approximately
2.5 kg of corn (15% moisture) are required per kg of PLA. This
does not mean that the difference (1.5 kg corn) is all waste. A part of this
difference is simply water, a part of it ends up in other corn wet mill products
such as germ oil, corn gluten meal and corn gluten feed, and part
represents the yield losses in the different processes [1].
Depending on the geographical location and whether a field is irrigated
or not, the yield of corn per hectare differs significantly. Yields vary from
60 bushels/acre (3.7 tons/hectare) from Western Nebraska dryland [2]
through 148 bushels/acre (9.3 t/ha) as the average corn yield in the USA in
2004/2005 [3] and 12 t/ha in Europe [4], going right up to 332 bu/acre (20.7
t/ha) reported from the National Corn Yield Contest in the USA 2006 [5]
If we take the US average in 2004/2005 we can calculate an average
“yield“ of 3.72 tons of PLA that can be “harvested“ from one hectare of
land. Other sources report approximately 2 tons [6] or 2.5 tons [1] of PLA
per hectare.
è PLA: Approx. 2-3.7 tons / hectare
PHA:
Metabolix report that currently corn is the major source for their PHA.
For 1 kg of PHA approximately 4.66 kg corn is needed [7].
Based on the information on corn yield above (average 9.3 t/ha), it is
clear that about 2 tons of PHA per hectare can be harvested.
è PHA: Approx. 2 tons / hectare
MaterBi:
MaterBi by Novamont [4] is a bioplastics material based on starch derived
from corn and oils (derived in turn from oilseeds). Approximately 0.5
kg of corn and 1.4 kg of oilseeds, plus other components and additives,
are needed to produce 1 kg of one example formulation of MaterBi.
Given the corn yield of about 12 t/ha and a vegetable oil productivity of
1 t/ha [g] Novamont calculate a yield of approximately 2.5 tons of an average
of different MaterBi resins that can be harvested from one hectare.
è MaterBi: Approx. 2.5 tons / ha
36 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Basics
Photo: Novamont
How much agricultural crop
land is available?
We will start with some basic figures. The total land
area of this planet is about 13 billion hectares. The usable
agricultural and silvicultural (forestry) area is about
5 billion hectares and agricultural crop land is given as
approximately 1.38 billion ha [8]. The remaining question
is: How much of this can be used for the production of
agricultural crops for bioplastics?
Here are some figures as a general indication:
It is known that in many countries of the world a certain
amount of agricultural crop land is not permitted to be
used for food production, because the overproduction of
food leads to an “imbalance in market prices“. In Europe
the Common Agricultural Policy therefore has required
the establishment of so called “set-aside zones“ where
food products must not be grown. This measure is aimed
at reducing the high level of agricultural subsidies in Europe.
European Bioplastics estimates the available area
for non-food production in the European Union (EU27) at
around 20 million hectares [9] Based on the figures above
this is enough for 40-50 million tons of bioplastics.
So even if bioenergy, bioethanol and biodiesel to
power our cars, and other chemical intermediate
products, require agricultural crops there should be
enough agricultural land available for the production
of bioplastics. And bioplastics can after their material
life be recovered by e.g. incineration, which gives
a “double dividend“ from the respective agricultural
resource. Both in ecological as well as in economical
terms, bioplastics should therefore be a very favourable
way of making use of agricultural commodities.
In addition to this, it should be mentioned that we
have discussed only primary agricultural crops here.
However, developments are under way to create bioplastics
from secondary biomaterial such as straw,
stems and leaves, and even from municipal waste
water.
In this respect, it is interesting to consider the situation
in the U.S.: The full capacity of NatureWorks‘ PLA plant
of 140,000 tons per year needs only about 0.14% of the
total corn produced in the USA.
How much bioplastics
will be needed?
Latest figures say that the annual global production of
all plastics today is about 240 million tons. If estimates
that say about 10% of all plastics could be replaced by
bioplastics are correct, this would amount to 24 million
tons. For these 24 million tons, according to the figures
above, agricultural crop land of approximalety 10 million
hectares would be needed.
This is 0.7 percent of the global agricultural crop land
or 50 percent of the European set-aside zones - which
are not even being used for food production.
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2 37
Basics
A certain number of products made of bioplastics are
already available in the market. Almost all of them are
labelled with some kind of a logo that tells the consumer
about the special character of the plastics material
used. These logos and their background are introduced by
bioplastics MAGAZINE in this series. Here questions such as:
What is the origin and history of a logo? What does it mean?
Which rules are involved with it? will be adressed.
Logos Part 4:
The Scandinavian
Once in a while you find an “apple” logo on bioplastics
products. In fact there are two different “apple” logos,
one being used in Norway and the other in Finland.
The Finnish Solid Waste Association, FSWA (in Finnish
Jätelaitosyhdistys), represents Finnish regional and municipal
waste management companies. The member companies
take care of the waste management for about five million
citizens (94 % of the total population).
FSWA is an organisation that acts as a link between the
member companies, the Finnish authorities and the European
Union. It is a strong developer of waste management in
Finland and guarantees a sound basis for the member companies‘
operations.
About ten years ago FSWA member companies started to
collect biowaste, mainly organic kitchen waste, from households.
“We encourage people to compost their yard waste
at home in their own gardens or in special compost bins,“
says Markku Salo, Director of FSWA. Part of a large communication
and promotion campaign in which the Ministry
for Environment was also involved, was the creation of the
biowaste-bin for the
kitchen, lined with a
bioplastics-bag
www.jly.fi
www.avfallnorge.no
“Finnish apple logo“. The reason for creating the logo was
quite simple. When biodegradable waste bags became
available people saw the bags in biowaste bins and thought
they could dispose of their kitchen waste in plastic bags.
So in order to distinguish compostable biowaste bags from
“normal“ plastic bags, the apple-logo was printed on the
bio-bags. “In Finland, biowaste bags are more or less the
only compostable plastics products that are available,“ says
Markku Salo. All biowaste bags carrying the apple logo are
certified in line with EN 13432. In Finland today five suppliers
sell certified biowaste bags with the apple logo. The
logo is printed on each bag. The composting bag producers
get a “brand” and a regularly promoted logo for their products.
Consumers can be sure that the product meets the
requirements of the standard. The same logo is well known
from the waste organisation information material, biowaste
bins and collection vehicles.
In Norway, the situation is quite similar, as Henrik Lystad
of Avfall Norge explains.
The system for recommendation and labelling of compostable
waste bags is operated since 2002 by Avfall Norge
(Waste Management Norway, formerly NRF). Avfall Norge
is a branch and interest organisation for approximately 90
municipal and intermunicipal solid waste organisations and
about 50 private companies. The municipal members cover
approximately 95 percent of Norway’s inhabitants.
In Norway, source separation is introduced for over
60 % of the population. The municipality often buys the
waste bags for their inhabitants, i.e. the provision of the
bags being incluced in the refuse collection charge. Thus
the logo was not created as a marketing instrument, “but
to help the municipalities to distinguish the ‘good from the
less good’ waste bag products,” as Henrik Lystad puts it.
When the logo was created, Henrik worked with a soil research
institute where he prepared the “System for recommendation
and labelling of compostable waste bags”. In
38 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Basics
“apples“
his report he suggested an apple logo, based
on an already existing logo. The apple was
originally created as a logo for stickers etc
to put on source separation bins for biowaste
together with other logos for paper, glass, textiles,
residual waste etc. Later, in 2002 the apple
logo for compostable waste bags was created, using
the apple in conjunction with a frame all around,
the word “compostable” and a certification number
to be used with biowaste-bags, distinguishing
it from the waste bin sticker.
Like in Finland, the Norwegian
apple logo is only to be used in
conjunction with biowaste-bags.
It may be used when the respective
CEN or DIN standards for compostability
are fulfilled. To ensure the functionality
of the waste bags an additional criterion was
defined focusing on the durability of the bags.
The test method was adapted from the Belgian VGS;
”D9 programme: Bags made of bioplastics intended to collect biodegradable
houehold refuse” (AIB Vincotte 1999). According to this test
bags are filled with an artivicial biowaste mix and stored at up to 40° C
for one week and the bag is not allowed to brake apart.
Finnish apple logo
The compostable logo, which is available for use on paper bags too,
has, for whatever reason, not yet been adopted by the paper industry.
In fact in Norway today just one company offers bio-plastic waste bags
with this logo. In order to open up market competition when municipalites
call for tenders, Henrik Lystad says „Avfallnorge is now considering
opening the biowaste system to bag products that fulfil similar standards,
for example those with the Seedling* Logo.“
*: See Logos part 1 in bioplastics MAGZINE 01/2006
Norwegian apple logo
Basics Glossary
Glossary
In bioplastics MAGAZINE again
and again the same expressions
appear that some of our readers
might (not yet) be familiar with.
This glossary shall help with
these terms and shall help avoid
repeated explanations such as
„PLA (Polylactide)“ in various
articles.
Amylopectin
Polymeric branched starch molecule with very high
molecular weight (biopolymer, monomer is à Glucose).
Amylose
Polymeric non-branched starch molecule with high
molecular weight (biopolymer, monomer is à Glucose).
Biodegradable Plastics
Biodegradable Plastics are plastics that are completely
assimilated by the à microorganisms present a defined
environment as food for their energy. The carbon of the
plastic must completely be converted into CO 2
.during the
microbial process. For an official definition, please refer
to the standards e.g. ISO or in Europe: EN 14995 Plastics-
Evaluation of compostability - Test scheme and specifications.
[bM* 02/2006 p. 34f, bM 01/2007 p38].
Blend
Mixture of plastics, polymer alloy of at least two microscopically
dispersed and molecularly distributed base
polymers.
Cellophane
Clear film on the basis of à cellulose.
Cellulose
Polymeric molecule with very high molecular weight
(biopolymer, monomer is à Glucose), industrial production
from wood or cotton, to manufacture paper, plastics
and fibres.
Compost
A soil conditioning material of decomposing organic
matter which provides nutrients and enhances soil structure.
Compostable Plastics
Readers who know better explanations or
who would like to suggest other explanations
to be added to the list, please contact the editor.
Explanantions we are currenty looking for
are for example “organic“ or “renewable“
[*: bM ... refers to more comprehensive article previously
published in bioplastics MAGAZINE)
Plastics that are biodegradable under “composting“
conditions: specified humidity, temperature, à microorganisms
and timefame. Several national and international
standards exist for clearer definitions, for example
EN 14995 Plastics - Evaluation of compostability - Test
scheme and specifications [bM 02/2006 p. 34f, bM 01/2007
p38].
Composting
A solid waste management technique that uses natural
process to convert organic materials to CO 2
, water and
humus through the action of à microorganisms.
40 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Basics Glossary
Copolymer
Plastic composed of different monomers.
Fermentation
Biochemical reactions controlled by à microorganisms
or enyzmes (e.g. the transformation of sugar into
lactic acid).
Gelatine
Translucent brittle solid substance, colorless or slightly
yellow, nearly tasteless and odorless, extracted from
the collagen inside animals‘ connective tissue.
Glucose
Monosaccharide (or simple sugar). G. is the most important
carbohydrate (sugar) in biology. G. is formed by
photosyntheses or hydrolysis of many carbohydrates e.g.
starch.
Humus
In agriculture, “humus“ is often used simply to mean
mature à compost, or natural compost extracted from
a forest or other spontaneous source for use to amend
soil.
Hydrophilic
Property: “water-friendly“, soluble in water or other
polar solvents (e.g. used in conjunction with a plastic
which is not waterresistant and weatherproof or that absorbs
water such as Polyamide (PA)).
Hydrophobic
Property: “water-resistant“, not soluble in water (e.g. a
plastic which is waterresistant and weatherproof, or that
does not absorb any water such as Polethylene (PE) or
Polypropylene (PP)).
Microorganism
Living organisms of microscopic size, such as bacteria,
funghi or yeast.
PCL
Polycaprolactone, a synthetic (fossil based), biodegradable
bioplastic, e.g. used as a blend component.
PHA
Polyhydroxyalkanoates are linear polyesters produced
in nature by bacterial fermentation of sugar or lipids. The
most common type of PHA is à PHB.
PHB
Polyhydroxyl buteric acid (better poly-3-hydroxybutyrate),
is a polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a polymer belonging to the
polyesters class. PHB is produced by micro-organisms apparently
in response to conditions of physiological stress.
The polymer is primarily a product of carbon assimilation
(from glucose or starch) and is employed by micro-organisms
as a form of energy storage molecule to be metabolized
when other common energy sources are not available.
PHB has properties similar to those of PP, however it is
stiffer and more brittle.
PLA
Polylactide, a bioplastic made of polymerised lactic acid.
Sorbitol
Sugar alcohol, obtained by reduction of glucose changing
the aldehyde group to an additional hydroxyl group. S. is
used as a plasticiser for bioplastics based on starch .
Starch
Natural polymer (carbohydrate) consisting of à amylose
and à amylopectin, gained from maize, potatoes, heat,
tapioca etc.
Sustainable
An attempt to provide the best outcomes for the human
and natural environments both now and into the indefinite
future. One of the most often cited definitions of sustainability
is the one created by the Brundtland Commission,
led by the former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem
Brundtland. The Brundtland Commission defined sustainable
development as development that „meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs.“ Sustainability relates to
the continuity of economic, social, institutional and environmental
aspects of human society, as well as the non-human
environment).
Thermoplastics
Plastics which soften or melt when heated and solidify
when cooled (solid at room temperature).
Yard Waste
Grass clippings, leaves, trimmings, garden residue.
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2 41
Review
PLA hot topic at
PETnology Forum
At the 10th PETnology Forum in Munich, Germany, technical
experts and senior managers from the beverage
and packaging industry, raw material and machinery
suppliers, as well as suppliers of peripheral equipment, caps,
colorants and consultants, shared their latest developments
and innovations with more than 280 delegates from 33 countries.
The number of delegates is a new record for PETnology
GmbH of Regensburg, Germany.
Recognising the trend towards sustainability and so towards
bioplastics, this year‘s PETnology Forum for the second time
dedicated a special session to the “Potential and Developments
for Renewable Plastics in Packaging“. This session was
chaired by Dr. Harald Kaeb, Chairman of European Bioplastics.
from left to right: Luc Vervynck, Bernd Merzenich,
Brian Glasbrenner, Dr. Harald Kaeb
Erwin Vink
in PLA Workshop
www.petnology.com
Harald Kaeb himself opened the session with a presentation
on “Market Introduction and Policy Measures in Europe“.
In his presentation “Additives to Improve Processing & Properties
of PLA“ Luc Vervynck of the ColorMatrix Group Inc. introduced
additives to minimise yellowing effects and processing
aids such as ColorMatrix Eze TM . The Joule TM reheat additives
improve the heat uptake of PLA in the oven of the stretch blow
moulding machine.
Bernd Merzenich, formerly a consultant for the German
drugstore chain “Ihr platz“, shared his positive experience
when introducing the “Vitamore“ wellness beverages in PLA
bottles with the world‘s first biodegradable cap.
NatureWorks‘ Global Director - Bottles, Brian Glasbrenner,
talked about „Responsible Packaging and Disposal - from
Resin to Recycling“. For him a critical mass is important when
trying to understand the economic sustainability of recycling
a new polymer. Therefore retailers, brand owners and other
stakeholders should be involved.
With regard to bioplastics the PETnology Forum was rounded
off by a workshop on the subject of “PLA“. Here Brian Glasbrenner
and Erwin Vink of NatureWorks LLC introduced a variety of
PLA applications - not only bottles. At the end of the workshop
they pointed out that NatureWorks is attempting to increase
the environmental benefits of PLA by using wind energy. NatureWorks
is one of the top 20 purchasers of renewable energy
certificates (RECs). The net result of purchasing RECs and using
a renewable feedstock leads to a reduction of 62-69 percent
in fossil fuel use for the manufacture of NatureWworks PLA
compared with traditional plastics.
42 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Stay permanently listed in the Suppliers Guide with
your company logo and contact information.
For only 6,– EUR per mm, per issue you can be present
among top suppliers in the field of bioplastics.
Suppliers Guide
Simply contact: Tel.: +49-2359-2996-0 or
suppguide@bioplasticsmagazine.com
1. Raw Materials
1.1 bio based monomers
Du Pont de Nemours International S.A.
2, Chemin du Pavillon, PO Box 50
CH 1218 Le Grand Saconnex,
Geneva, Switzerland
Phone: + 41(0) 22 717 5176
Fax: + 41(0) 22 580 2360
thomas.philipon@che.dupont.com
www.packaging.dupont.com
1.2 compounds
R.O.J. Jongboom Holding B.V.
Biopearls
Damstraat 28
6671 AE Zetten
The Netherlands
Tel.: +31 488 451318
Mob: +31 646104345
info@biopearls.nl
www.biopearls.nl
BIOTEC Biologische
Naturverpackungen GmbH & Co. KG
Werner-Heisenberg-Straße 32
46446 Emmerich
Germany
Tel.: +49 2822 92510
Fax: +49 2822 51840
info@biotec.de
www.biotec.de
FKuR Kunststoff GmbH
Siemensring 79
D - 47 877 Willich
Tel.: +49 (0) 2154 9251-26
Tel.: +49 (0) 2154 9251-51
patrick.zimmermann@fkur.de
www.fkur.de
Transmare Compounding B.V.
Ringweg 7, 6045 JL
Roermond, The Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0)475 345 900
Fax: +31 (0)475 345 910
info@transmare.nl
www.compounding.nl
1.3 PLA
Uhde Inventa-Fischer GmbH
Holzhauser Str. 157 - 159
13509 Berlin
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)30 43567 5
fax: +49 (0)30 43567 699
sales.de@thyssenkrupp.com
www.uhde-inventa-fischer.com
1.4 starch-based bioplastics
BIOTEC Biologische
Naturverpackungen GmbH & Co. KG
Werner-Heisenberg-Straße 32
46446 Emmerich
Germany
Tel.: +49 2822 92510
Fax: +49 2822 51840
info@biotec.de
www.biotec.de
1.5 PHA
1.6 masterbatches
PolyOne
Avenue Melville Wilson, 2
Zoning de la Fagne
5330 Assesse
Belgium
Tel.: + 32 83 660 211
info.color@polyone.com
www.polyone.com
Sukano Products Ltd.
Chaltenbodenstrasse 23
CH-8834 Schindellegi
Phone +41 44 787 57 77
Fax +41 44 787 57 78
www.sukano.com
1.7 reinforcing fibres/fillers
made from RRM
2. Additives /
Secondary raw materials
Du Pont de Nemours International S.A.
2, Chemin du Pavillon, PO Box 50
CH 1218 Le Grand Saconnex,
Geneva, Switzerland
Phone: + 41(0) 22 717 5176
Fax: + 41(0) 22 580 2360
thomas.philipon@che.dupont.com
www.packaging.dupont.com
3. Semi finished products
3.1 films
Maag GmbH
Leckingser Straße 12
58640 Iserlohn
Germany
Tel.: + 49 2371 9779-30
Fax: + 49 2371 9779-97
shonke@maag.de
www.maag.de
Treofan Germany GmbH & Co. KG
Am Prime Parc 17
65479 Raunheim
Tel +49 6142 200-0
Fax +49 6142 200-3299
www.biophanfilms.com
www.earthfirstpla.com
www.sidaplax.com
www.plasticsuppliers.com
Sidaplax UK : +44 (1) 604 76 66 99
Sidaplax Belgium: +32 9 210 80 10
Plastic Suppliers: 1 866 378 4178
3.1.1 cellulose based films
INNOVIA FILMS LTD
Wigton
Cumbria CA7 9BG
England
Contact: Andy Sweetman
Tel.: +44 16973 41549
Fax: +44 16973 41452
andy.sweetman@innoviafilms.com
www.innoviafilms.com
4. Bioplastics products
natura Verpackungs GmbH
Industriestr. 55 - 57
48432 Rheine
Tel.: +49 5975 303-57
Fax: +49 5975 303-42
info@naturapackaging.com
www.naturapackagign.com
Veriplast Holland BV
Stadhoudersmolenweg 70
NL - 7317 AW Apeldoorn
www.veripure.eu
Info@veripure.eu
4.1 trays
5. Traders
5.1 wholesale
6. Machinery & Molds
Molds, Change Parts and Turnkey
Solutions for the PET/Bioplastic
Container Industry
284 Pinebush Road
Cambridge Ontario
Canada N1T 1Z6
Tel.: 001 519 624 9720
Fax: 001 519 624 9721
info@hallink.com
www.hallink.com
SIG CORPOPLAST
GMBH & CO.KG
Meiendorfer Str. 203
22145 Hamburg, Germany
Tel. 0049-40-679-070
Fax 0049-40-679-07270
sigcorpoplast@sig.biz
www.sigcorpoplast.com
7 Ancillary equipment
8. Services
9. Research institutes / Universities
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2 43
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44 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Event-Calendar
Events
June 14-15, 2007
Biofolien für Bioverpackungen
Steigenberger Hotel, Osnabrück, Germany
www.innoform-coaching.de
June 26-27, 2007
Packaging Summit Europe
Hotel Okura, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
www.pkgeurope.com
July 3-4, 2007
Biodegradable Plastics in Packaging Applications
Hilton Munich Park Hotel, Munich, Germany
www.intertechpira.com
July 9-11, 2007
The 8th International Conference of Eco-Materials
Brunel University, West London, London, UK
sed.temp@brunel.ac.uk
September 6-9, 2007
naro.tec 2007
Messe und Kongresse für Nachwachsende Rohstoffe
Messezentrum Erfurt, Germany
www.narotec.de
September 12-13, 2007
1st PLA-Bottle-Conference
organized by bioplastics MAGAZINE
Grand Elysee Hotel Hamburg, Germany
www.pla-bottle-conference.com
September 13-14, 2007
Biodegradable Plastics in Packaging Applications
Chicago, IL, USA
www.intertechpira.com
September 18-19, 2007
Biokunststoffe, Herstellung - Verarbeitung - Anwendung
University of Duisburg, Germany
www.hanser.de/biokunststoffe
September 25-26, 2007
Sustainable Packaging
Central London, UK
www.epn-sustainablepackaging.com
October 17-19, 2007
BioEnvironmental Polymer Society 14th Annual Meeting
International Symposium on Polymers and the Environment:
Emerging Technology and Science
Hilton Vancouver Hotel, Vancouver, Washington
Call for Papers: gmg@pw.usda.gov
October 24-31, 2007
K‘2007, International Trade Fair
No 1 for Plastic and Rubber Worldwide
Düsseldorf, Germany
www.k-online.de
meet bioplastics MAGAZINE in Hall 7, 07C09
November 21-22, 2007
2nd European Bioplastics 2007
Convention Centre Newport Bay Club
Disneyland Paris, France
www.european-bioplastics.org
November 27-28, 2007
PETnology Asia
Shanghai
www.petnology.com
December 5-6, 2007
Bioplastics 2007
including Bioplastics Awards 2007
Frankfurt/Main, Germany
www.bpevent.com (for the awards contact chris.smith@emap.com)
March 3-4, 2008
3rd International Seminar on Biodegradable Polymers
Valencia, Spain
http://www.azom.com/details.asp?newsID=7345
June 18-19, 2008
7th Global WPC and Natural Fibre Composites
Congress and Exhibition
Kongress Palais, Stadthalle, Kassel, Germany
www.wpc-nfk.de
K‘2007 - show preview
One of the biggest events for the plastics
industry is certainly the K’2007 in Düsseldorf,
Germany from 24-31 October, 2007.
At the “number 1 for plastics and rubber worldwide”
more than 2,900 exhibitors will show their expertise and
products on an extended fairground of 265,000 square
metres. The last “K-Show” in 2004 attracted almost
231,000 visitors from all over the world.
For the next issue bioplastics MAGAZINE will prepare
a special K’2007 show preview. Therefore we ask all
suppliers of products or services exhibiting at K’2007
to send us your press releases, information about your
exhibits etc..
Come and see us at K’2007. bioplastics MAGAZINE would
be happy to welcome you in hall 7, booth 7C09.
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2 45
Companies in this issue
Company Editorial Advert
Arhcer Daniels Midland (ADM) 5
Avfall Norge (Waste Management Norway) 38
Belu Mineral Water 10
Bio Environmental Polymer Society (BEPS) 31
BioCycle Magazine 31
Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) 30
Biomer 32
Biopearls 5 37
Bioplastics24.com 7
Biota Brands of America 10
Blue Lake Citrus Products 6
Brau Beviale (Messe Nürnberg) 33
Brecon Mineral Water 11
Chevron Phillips 33
ColorMatrix 42
Consolidated Container Corporation 6
Cortec 23
Creative Composites 35
Danimer 14
DS Technical Nowovens 26
DuPont Packaging 6
Emap 7
European Bioplastics 7, 37, 42
Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe (FNR) 36
Finnish Solid Waste Association (FSWA) 38
FkUR Kunststoff 28
Fraunhofer Institut UMSICHT 28
German Bioplastics 11
Grow Iowa Value Funds 35
Hallink 25
Husky 10
Ihr Platz 10, 18, 43
Intertech Pira 17
Iowa State University 34
Iroquois Water 11
K‘2007 (Messe Düsseldorf) 45 9
Krones 11
Luzenac 33
Company Editorial Advert
Metabolix 5, 36
Michigan State University 32
Naro.tect (Messe Erfurt) 19
National Science Foundation 33
Natura Packaging 47
Naturally Iowa 10
NatureWorks 6, 10, 21, 24,
36, 42
Netstal 18
Norland International 10, 20
Novamont (MaterBi) 11, 18, 36 48
Oerlemans Plastics 28
Perstorp 33
PETnology 42
Planet Friendly Priducts 10
Plantic Technologies 7, 14
Plasticker 8 23
Plastics Supplers 24 23
Plastipak 11
Plus One Water 10
Quellenhof 11
Sainsbury‘s 30
Sidaplax 24 23
SIG Corpoplast 10, 22 2
SIG Plasmax 14, 22
Souther Clay Products 33
Tate&Lyle 11
Telles 5
Trexel 35
Turtle Island Project 15
Vermeer Manufacturing 35
Visy Industries 7, 14
Wal-Mart 30
Wiedmer AG 18 17
Zenith Publishing 29
Next Issue
For the next issue of bioplastics MAGAZINE
(among others) the following subjects are scheduled:
Special:
Basics:
Events:
Next issues:
Trays, films
What exactly happens in industrial
composting
Logos Part 5
Review and preview of events like
exhibitions and conferences
e.g. K‘2007 preview
03/07 October 2007
04/07 December 2007
01/08 February 2008
01/08 April 2008
46 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
A real sign
of sustainable
development.
There is such a thing as genuinely sustainable development.
Since 1989, Novamont researchers have been working
on an ambitious project that combines the chemical
industry, agriculture and the environment: “Living
Chemistry for Quality of Life”. Its objective has been to
create products that have a low environmental impact.
The innovative result of Novamont’s research is the new
bioplastic Mater-Bi ® .The Mater-Bi ® polymer comes from maize starch and
other vegetable starches; it is completely biodegradable and compostable.
Mater-Bi ® performs like plastic, but it saves energy, contributes to reducing
the greenhouse effect, and at the end of its life cycle, it closes the loop by
changing into fertile humus. Everyone’s dream has become a reality.
Living Chemistry for Quality of Life.
www.novamont.com
Mater-Bi ® : certified and recommended biodegradability and compostability.
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