bioplastics MAGAZINE Issue 02/2010

Known for high-quality, stylishly designed items plus all the essentials, displayed in a clean, organized, and welcoming environment, Target Corporation operates more than 1,700 stores and is the second largest discount retailer in the United States. Target strives to be a responsible steward of the environment, seeking to understand its impact on the planet and continuously improve business practices.

Ever since the introduction of ‘biodegradable plastics’ in the late 1980s, verification of the claims ‘biodegradable’ or ‘compostable’ has been a key question. Although touted as ‘environmentally friendly’, several so-called biodegradable plastic products did not biodegrade as expected. And yet manufacturers of these products were able to make unverified claims of biodegradability because scientifically based test methods and standards were only beginning to be introduced [1]. Before this, manufacturers used whatever test method they felt most appropriate. Without clear standards or definitions, critics and consumers were skeptical of any product making a claim of biodegradability or compostability. The market for biodegradable/compostable products languished, as did rates of municipal composting, as composters banned any materials that could potentially contaminate their composting operations.

While the biodegradable properties of some bio-plastics are the main argument for their use in packaging, more recently bio-plastics have become interesting for use in durable products such as in cars or as housings for electrical appliances. There are already some products in the electronic entertainment area (e.g. MP3 players, Walkman®, cell phones) in the market [1, 2]. There is however so far not much expert knowledge for electrical household appliances. For that reason the Efbe GmbH in conjunction with the Thüringisches Institut für Textil- und Kunststoff-Forschung e.V. (TITK) has researched the suitability of different bio-plastics for the production of housings for household appliances.

Gemalto, headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, recently announced the launch of a pilot of bio-sourced SIM cards by SFR, leading French operator with over 20 million mobile subscribers. This program is the first trial of bio-sourced The bio-sourced SIM card is made from PLA and a small amount of petroleum based biodegradable polymer to reach the temperature and humidity standards needed in Telecom application. This material is easily recyclable and compostable through small scale industrial units and reduces the global ecological footprint of the production process. It can also be incinerated without emission of toxic fumes.

For many years specialty polymer compounds have existed that meet various industry standards for flame retardant (FR) performance. These materials include polymers that are inherently flame retardant as well as a variety of common polymers that are combined with FR additives to produce specialty compounds that meet the required flame resistance tests put forth by various industries.

Eco-Products, Boulder, Colorado, the leading brand of biodegradable and compostable food service ware solutions throughout the USA, last year introduced the first commercially available compostable hot cup lid in North America. This product addresses the growing demand from conscious coffee and tea enthusiasts. Made from NatureWork‘s Ingeo™ biopolymer (PLA), the product enables restaurants, hotels, and university and corporate campuses to break away from the status quo and provide a fully renewable hot cup and lid system.

Packaging is a very broad topic that impacts on multiple business disciplines such as marketing, logistics, legislation and strategic management. In addition technological innovation and environmental protection are quite important, especially when it comes to biodegradable plastic packaging.

Bioplastics are the plastic industry’s answer to the demand for ecologically responsible alternatives to petrochemical-based polymers.

Cereplast, Inc., El Segundo, California, USA and Oculus3D from Las Vegas, a company focused on film-based 3D projection technology, recently announced that Oculus3D will introduce the world‘s first bioplastics 3D glasses as part of the OculR 3D viewing system to movie theaters. The eco-friendly 3D glasses are manufactured using Cereplast‘s Compostables® resin made with IngeoTM PLA. These resins allow for the manufacturing of glasses made of renewable material and create a truly compostable product. The glasses are expected to be available this Summer 2010.

Flexible plastic films have a long history of high performance in packaging applications and are well established at the forefront of waste reduction. Conventional plastics naturally tend to offer a high barrier to moisture, therefore allowing dry foods to remain dry and wet products to maintain moisture, for a long period of time.

Umbria Olii International, Rome, Italy, introduces a worldwide first - compostable soap wrapping. This bio-film is based on FKuR’s Bio-Flex® and is used for the packaging of ‘Ecolive‘ laundry soap.

Cereplast, Inc. has begun production at its new facility in Seymour, Indiana, USA. The Company has also moved its corporate headquarters to offices in El Segundo, California, from Hawthorne, California.

Cortec Corporation, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, in conjunction with EcoCortec from Beli Manastir, Croatia, has recently launched EcoWorks®, a line of biodegradable, compostable films, bags, and resin for blown film and cast film extrusion and injection molding.

The very first biodegradable and compostable cement bag - BioSac by Ciments Calcia S.A.S., Guerville, France – has been launched into the French market so that the building industry can benefit from a 100% environmentally-friendly solution to the management of wastes on building sites.

The Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (MAIB) is a centre for post-graduate training, applied scientific research and international cooperation projects among the Mediterranean countries. It includes a campus area, frequented daily by about 300 students and workers, and an experimental farm. The site, of about six hectares, includes an experimental composting plant for training, dissemination and research purposes.

Every year in March, the German Engineers Association (VDI) holds its ‘Plastics in Automotive Engineering’ conference in Mannheim, Germany. The event, attended by more than 1000 automotive experts, this year featured ‘sustainability’ as one of the highlights.

Winter is over (…finally), everywhere we see a multitude of different coloured flowers appearing, and the first trees are coming into bud.

Eataly, the world’s largest wine and food market, headquartered in Turin, Italy, is phasing out traditional plastic carrier bags and adopting biodegradable and compostable bags and disposable tableware in naturally biodegradable and compostable Mater-Bi®

With their range under the Naturaé label, made from sustainable raw materials such as Mater-Bi from Novamont, WIP (Wellness Innovation Project SpA. from Prato, Italy) is offering - even if only for a tiny slice of the market - a sustainable alternative to the traditional disposable nappy from fossil sources.

In early March, the European Commission approved Amflora, BASF‘s genetically optimized starch potato, for commercial application in Europe. The potato can now be used for the production of industrial starch.

Sweets, chocolates and other types of confectionery are packed in boxes with plastic insert trays. These trays are manufactured by thermoforming plastic sheet. A relatively new development is to produce the inserts in bioplastic.

Article contributed by Kaya Kaplancali, CEO, Dandelion Research, Hong Kong In March, Bioserie began online sales of the World’s First Apple 3G/3GS iPhone covers made from plants, not oil. Consumers can pick from six different colors.

Purac, manufacturer of lactides and lactic acid from Gorinchem, The Netherlands recently announced the construction of a 75,000 t/a lactide plant in Thailand. Since the end of 2007 Purac is already running a plant for the production of lactic acid in Thailand with an annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes. The market development for lactide monomers is supported by sustainability studies. This article summarizes the results of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) recently carried out for L(+)-lactide and Poly-L(+)-Lactic Acid (PLLA) made from sugar cane in Thailand. This article provides the most important conclusions of the study. The full LCA will be available for download from www.bioplasticsmagazine.de/201002 as soon as it has been accepted for publication. (which is now the case - as of August 2010)

Metabolix Inc., based in Cambridge, Massachussetts, USA recently announced that it has begun production at its new Mirel bioplastics plant in Clinton, Iowa.

Bringing new generations of feedstock and specialty chemicals to market is fraught with commercial risk, but one organization connected to a world-leading research university focuses on taking risk out of the equation.

NatureWorks Ingeo ™ PLA is the first polymer to earn a four-star ‘OK biobased‘ rating from European certification organization Vinçotte of Vilvoorde, Belgium.

NatureWorks LLC will now offer for sale a range of polymer-grade lactides. Produced from lactic acid, these value added intermediates are used to produce Ingeo™ biopolymer (PLA). NatureWorks says that it is selling Ingeo lactide intermediates for use in polymer applications in order to support rapidly growing global demand the company continues to see for PLA plastics and fibers.

In early March BioCor LLC from Concord, California, USA announced its launch as a new venture in the business of buying, aggregating, and processing post-consumer Polylactic acid (PLA). BioCor will capitalize on the ease with which PLA can be converted back to its original lactic acid feedstock for subsequent use in a variety of existing end markets.

Kafrit Industries, the Israeli branch of the Kafrit Group, has recently launched DEG 0K12Q BDP – a biodegradable compound for film extrusion that complies with the requirements of EN 13432 and ISO 17088. The compound – a result of two years of research - is a combination of PLA (Ingeo™) and modified polyester with the addition of antioxidants and process additives.

Some plastics marked as ‘degradable’ might not be as environmentally-friendly as consumers think, according to new research funded by Defra, the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Ecological conscience is starting to appear in Belarus though bioplastics industry and bioplastics market are still not created and not developing in this country.

A&O FilmPAC Ltd. Olney, UK has signed an agreement with Shenzhen Ecomann Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Shenzhen, China to become the sole EU distributor for its PHA (Polyhydroxyalkanoate) range of resins in Europe. Expansion into a new factory is set to make Ecomann one of the world’s biggest supplier of PHA, lowering the cost and improving supply of this versatile bioplastic.

Tianjin Green BioScience Co., Ltd. (Green Bio) of China, is a high-tech Sino-foreign joint venture headquartered in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as TEDA, and was established more than six years ago.

A process for blending starch with other polymers while retaining the key properties of the host resin is now operating commercially in North America. The first products on the market are ‘hybrids’ of thermoplastic starch (TPS) with petrochemical plastics, but soon to follow will be blends of thermoplastic starch with other biopolymers, such as polylactic acid (PLA) or polyhydroxy alkanoate (PHA).

Custom thermoformer, Plastic Ingenuity, Cross Plains, Wisconsin, USA, a national leader in the light gauge custom thermoforming industry since 1972, has been and continues to lead the industry with its unparalleled innovation and R&D. Now they have developed a proprietary process improvement that significantly increases the heat deflection temperature in PLA (Polylactic Acid) material, clearing a significant hurdle regarding this sustainable material. This advancement includes a material enhancement and unique processing techniques to attain higher temperature PLA.