bioplastics MAGAZINE Issue March/April 02/2008

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can be a useful tool for evaluating a product’s net environmental impact. But don’t assume it’s going to be easy, or that you will get the answer that you want.

The automotive industry has been on the cutting edge of many technological breakthroughs.

The focus of Reifenhäuser, a leading manufacturer of high-performance extrusion lines, is on consistent research and further development of line concepts.

The Trabant - it still to be seen on German roads (and not only German roads). A mass-produced car from the former DDR (German Democratic Republic).

In 1987, Tsuji & Ikada were the first to publish about the handshake of mirrored polylactides:

The world’s first biofabric made with completely plant-derived fibers, suitable for use in vehicle interiors, has been developed by Mazda Motor Corporation in collaboration with Teijin Limited and Teijin Fibers Limited.

A new group of materials, consisting of bioplastics reinforced with natural fibres, offers a broad and very interesting field of applications because of their highly promising properties.

Automotive components made with materials from renewable resources have moved successfully from pipe dreams long ago to the state-of-the-art applications of today:

NatureWorks LLC is committed to producing polymers from annually renewable resources, which meet the world‘s needs of today without compromising the earth‘s ability to meet the needs of tomorrow.

Australians are among the world’s best in plastics recycling and retailers are becoming more and more focused on a sustainable future. Yet the world’s non-renewable energy sources are depleting at an amazing speed and further steps need to be taken towards adopting more ecosensitive packaging technologies.

As consumers, we are all becoming increasingly aware of our impact that our decisions and actions have on the global environment.

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