Daily News

Danimer Scientific, a leading developer and manufacturer of biodegradable materials, today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected the company as one of eight organizations receiving a total of nearly $5.7 million in support to conduct research and development projects within the biomanufacturing industry. Of the eight recipients, Danimer Scientific is the sole organization focused on the manufacture of biodegradable plastics.

Rompa Group, a plastics processor with operations at sites on three continents, recently drafted a whitepaper on sustainability. Rompa uses recycled plastics in its production processes and is currently conducting tests with bioplastics for several major customers – a good reason to include a chapter on bioplastics in its whitepaper.

The BIOnTop project has come to the end of the first of the in total four years which this project will span.

More than three quarters of people say they are “very concerned” about the environment and feel companies should be doing more to address their impact on the planet. As consumers look for ways to help tackle climate change through their own positive actions, many are limiting their use of single-use plastics.

Joining the fight against the plastic tide, Dutch-based brand Bottle Up has launched in the UK with their pre-filled, reusable, BPA-free, plant-based water bottles.

A packaging deal with an ethical skincare manufacturer signals the start of an exciting new partnership for Teysha Technologies.

Mondi, a leading global packaging and paper manufacturer, is partnering with One Young World for a second consecutive year as a sponsor of Lead2030.

The BBI project CHAMPION, which started in June 2020, will develop a large number of new, safe biobased materials for circular applications. This new library of biobased materials will bring the circular ambitions of the European Union a step closer.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), has started work to establish a globally recognized mass balance standard for the industry. The new standard will help to drive real change, supporting the development of recycled and renewable raw materials, and the production processes needed.

Photanol BV and RENOLIT SE, a manufacturer of high-quality polymer films, sheets and other polymer solutions, have formed a strategic partnership to develop polymers based on CO2 absorbed from the air in a direct, fully circular and CO2 -neutral conversion process without using (fossil) oil and gas.

The industrialization of the disruptive Dry Molded Fiber technology just received a considerable boost with the unveiling by the Swedish start-up PulPac of its very first pilot line. The technology has been developed as an alternative to single-use plastics, and will be licensed to manufacturers and brands setting up their own production lines.

Sustainable technology company Anellotech has announced that R Plus Japan Ltd., a new joint venture company, will invest in the development of Anellotech’s cutting-edge Plas-TCat technology for recycling used plastics.

NEC Corporation announced today, 29 June, that NEC Platforms, a wholly owned subsidiary, has begun global sales of NeCycle, a cellulosic, highly functional bioplastic that contains approximately 50% non-edible plant ingredients and biodegrades in natural environments in approximately four years.

Francesco Degli lnnocenti of Novamont comments on the results of a study by Accinelli et al., recently published by Waste Management titled “Persistence in soil of microplastic films from ultra-thin compostable plastic bags and implications on soil Aspergillus flavus population “

Clariant has announced some good news for the development of sustainable compostable products. The company's biobased processing & dispersing additives for biopolymers used in plastics– Licocare® RBW Vita range, Licolub® FA 1 and Licowax® C – have earned the “OK compost INDUSTRIAL” certificate.

Bio-Fed has announced the introduction of what it claims is a more further developed version of its home compostable and soil degradable injection moulding grade of M-Vera GP 1012.

Over the next three years, Senbis in Emmen, the Netherlands, will be investing €5.5 million through its new subsidiary SPIC Facilities BV, in a testing facility for the development of sustainable plastics.

Finland's Neste and Jokey, a leading German international manufacturer of rigid plastic packaging, have started collaborating with a target to develop the market for rigid packaging from sustainable renewable and recycled materials for food and non-food applications.

PolyOne announced it is adding production of both post-industrial recycled nylon grades and bio-based thermoplastic elastomers in Europe. This strengthened sustainability portfolio will support circular economy goals and provide additional eco-conscious material options for EU customers.

Covestro is introducing a new polycarbonate film with more than 50 percent of its carbon content sourced from plant-based biomass. Makrofol EC is the first partially bio-based film in the company’s product portfolio.

Global engineering and consultancy firm Worley has been awarded a FEED (front-end engineering design) to develop Avantium’s flagship plant that will support the transition to a bio-based economy for plastics. The plant will produce 100% plant-based FDCA – a key building block for many chemicals and plastics.

Italy-based Ticinoplast, a specialised producer of polyethylene film for packaging, has developed a new range of films as a sustainable, compostable alternative to conventional packaging films.

Latvijas Finieris, a global leading developer, producer and supplier of birch plywood products, has together with Stora Enso taken the next steps towards replacing phenol – in resins used in plywood – with lignin. This new lignin-based glue significantly reduces the carbon footprint of plywood products all the way from production to final end-use applications without compromising on technical performance.

Although cars are a long way from becoming environmentally ‘friendly’, the use of bio-based materials is gaining traction, especially in the interior. And now there’s even vegan seat covers!

In an open letter addressed to UK Secretary of State George Eustace, a group of some 7 associations and Greenpeace urgently request a total ban on the use, sale and distribution in the UK of oxo degradable plastics, aka oxo biodegradable, oxo fragmentable or bio-assimilable plastics.

All around the world today, resources are being mobilized to fight the novel COVID 19 virus; from sanitary systems to industries and citizen actions. All nations are committed to find solutions that can reinforce and support medical procedures, hospitals and health structures.

French bioplastics startup Lactips has raised 13 million euros in new capital in an investment round led by Bpifrance’s SPI (Société de Projet Industriel) fund, managed on behalf of the French Government as part of the Investments for the Future Program (PIA), and Diamond Edge Ventures (DEV), the innovation investment arm of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation (MCHC).

According to the European Strategy for Plastics, launched in 2018, all plastic packaging placed on the EU market must be either reusable or easily recyclable by the year 2030. Now, Finnish start-up Woodly Ltd has developed and commercialised a new material that is already able to satisfy this requirement in full.

Braskem’s production of I’m green™ polyethylene, a bio-based plastic made from sugarcane, was recognized 26 May by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Global Compact Network Brazil as one of the most transformational cases in sustainable development in Brazil, in the Industry & Energy category.

BASF and Red Avenue New Materials Group have signed a joint agreement that grants Red Avenue New Materials Group the license to produce and sell certified compostable aliphatic-aromatic co-polyester (PBAT) according to high BASF quality standards.