Daily News

Canada-based good natured Products Inc. announced 4 March that it has entered into a definitive agreement with the shareholders of Shepherd Thermoforming & Packaging Inc., a leading thermoformer with over 35 years’ experience, to acquire 100% of Shepherd and all its real estate assets for CAD$9.5 million in cash.

Researchers at the University of Oulu’s Research Unit of Sustainable Chemistry have developed a new synthetic bioplastic that, unlike traditional carbon-based plastics or other bioplastics, provides protection from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation.

An 11-strong European consortium has secured funding for an innovative project to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of generating waste sugars derived from household waste and producing a range of high-performance bio-based materials and products.

Vynova has launched a range of bio-attributed PVC resins that will enable customers in all application sectors to innovate their PVC products and support their sustainability goals.

With comfortemp Lyocell padding, Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel has launched the first fully biodegradable padding made from sustainably produced cellulose fibre that completely degrades in soil within just under 60 days.

Novamont has announced a fundamental breakthrough in its range of biodegradable and compostable films for food packaging, five years after the launch of the first Mater-Bi grade for clingfilm.

With around 500 delegates, the Summit of World Market Leaders is Germany’s largest gathering of both current and emerging world market leaders, commentators and political decision-makers. The event is organized by Wirtschaftswoche magazine.

Polylactic acids, starch blends, cellulose, and other bioplastics achieve significantly higher growth rates than conventional standard plastics made of mineral oils or natural gases.

Kompuestos president Ignacio Duch is attending the 13th edition of the Frankfurt European Midcap Event, which will take place next Tuesday, February 11.

Greentech pioneer AVA Biochem AG in Zug, Switzerland has developed, patented and piloted a fully water-based process for the conversion of industrial sugars into the 100% bio-based molecule 5-HMF.

In what is being hailed as the next step in Mattel’s environmental sustainability commitment for 2030, the company announced that MEGA, the Company’s popular construction brand, is launching new products derived from bio-based plastic line

Eighty years after nylon’s first commercial production, clean manufacturing technology leader Genomatica achieved a new milestone for the material — its production of the world’s first renewably-sourced ton of the key ingredient for nylon-6, made from plants instead of crude oil.

Environmentally-conscious, flexible, two or three-layer barrier properties – Emsur’s latest packaging development ticks all the boxes. While aimed at the coffee market, the new solution is already finding application beyond that sector alone.

Arkema is developing innovative and sustainable solutions for the sports market. At the upcoming ISPO fair in Munich, which takes place from January 26 to 29, 2020, the company will be presenting its range of high-performance Pebax elastomer products.

Loliware, the world's leading seaweed-based material technology company replacing plastics, announced the close of a $6MM financing round, led by prominent NY venture firm Hatzimemos / Libby.

Kompuestos, a leading producer of sustainable compounds in Europe, has developed a new bioplastic based on potato starch that will degrade ‘on the ground’ within four weeks. It joins the company’s Biokomp range of biodegradable resins made from different starches derived from corn, potato and various types of cereals.

Bitrez Ltd, Europe’s leading manufacture of specialist polymers and chemicals, is launching a new family of regulatory compliant bio-based resins for the composites industry at JEC World 2020.

Tony Duncan, CEO of Circa Group Ltd, who produces bio-based solvent Cyrene from waste biomass – has announced two additions to the team.

A professor of food science and technology at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, William Chen has invented a biodegradable food wrap made of cellulose and extracted from the waste generated by soybean product manufacturers.

Avantium announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Avantium Renewable Polymers, has signed a letter of intent to locate its new flagship plant at Chemie Park Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The 5-kiloton facility will produce plant-based FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid) – a key building block for many chemicals and plastics such as PEF (polyethylene furanoate).

Trioplast, a film manufacturer headquartered in Sweden, has been committed to the sustainable use of their products since the 1990s. The company has a large sustainable product portfolio featuring products with reduced material usage or raw material made from renewable resources. The company has now developed the first premium silage stretch film ever based on post-consumer recycling material (PCR). Trioplast now has a patent pending for the use of PCR in the production of all their stretch films.

Since its invention, plastic has become central in our way of life. In the 1950s, 0.5 million tons of plastic was produced yearly, and this has rocketed to 300 million tons today. However, only 3% of it is recovered and the remaining 97% accumulates in landfills and the sea. Recent research by Austrian scientists from the Medical University of Vienna also found the presence of plastics in the human digestive system.

At the upcoming Pharmapack 2020, Bensheim, Germany-based Sanner GmbH, the market leader for effervescent tablet packaging, will present its new Sanner BioBase effervescent tablet packaging for the first time. Sanner BioBase is the first biopackaging of its kind made of renewable raw materials and complies with all demands of modern pharma packaging.

Leading global children’s entertainment company Mattel has announced its goal to achieve 100% recycled, recyclable or bio-based plastics materials in both its products and packaging by 2030. In the first half of 2020, the Company will debut its first product aligned with this goal: the iconic Fisher-Price Rock-a-Stack made from sugarcane-based plastics and packaged in 100% recycled or sustainably sourced material.

Braskem, Biowash and Greco & Guerreiro have announced plans to launch a new packaging solution for homecare products made from biobased plastics and post-consumer resin, a combination said to substantially reduce CO2 emissions. The new solution will be used for both the one and the five liter packs of the Brazilian company Biowash, a pioneer in the development of 100%-biodegradable natural homecare products.

At the UN climate conference in Madrid, bamboo was one of the topics of discussion. Climate experts said it could offer an important biobased alternative to plastic, reports INBAR, the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation.

Kaneka Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo) has completed the capacity enhancement work for “Kaneka Biodegradable Polymer PHBH®” at its Takasago Plant as scheduled. The completion ceremony was held on December 17th. The investment amount was approximately 2.5 billion yen (41 million EUR) [1], and the production capacity is about 5,000 tonnes / year, five times the previously existing capacity.

Stora Enso is investing EUR 9 million to build a pilot facility for enabling the production of bio-based plastics to serve as a barrier layer in transparent packaging. The pilot plant will convert plant-based sugars into the renewable building block required to make PEF, a bio-based plastic, mainly targeting the food and beverage industry. The pilot plant will be located at Stora Enso's Langerbrugge Mill in Belgium.

Sustainable technology company Anellotech is significantly expanding its program with Plas-TCatTM, a new process technology aiming to convert a wide range of plastic waste directly into chemicals – which can then be used to make new, virgin plastics.

The Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU), an EU body, reconfirmed to award the PEFerence consortium, coordinated by Avantium Renewable Polymers, with a €25 million “PEFerence” Horizon 2020 grant.