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Earlier this month, scientists at the European Academies of Science (EASAC) produced a report warning that current efforts to resolve the plastics crisis are ineffective and misleading. Policymakers and industry must address conflicts in the whole system, from production to end-of-life.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has deeply impacted daily life as we know it around the world.

LEITAT Technological Centre, the beneficiary of two BBI JU projects, has led the development of 3D-printed ventilators to help hospitals deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. T

In a new spirit of solidarity, RadiciGroup and Atalanta, two Bergamo-based companies, have decided to support the temporary field hospital that the National Association of Italian Alpine Soldiers is building on the premises of Bergamo trade fair in response to the Coronavirus emergency.

Avantium reported a 22% increase in consolidated revenues from operations to €13.8 million (FY 2018: €11.3 million), mainly driven by increased systems sales by Avantium Catalysis. Higher revenues in its Renewable Chemistries business related to collaboration agreements with partners. Revenues in Avantium Renewable Polymers arose from agreements allowing customers to validate the technology.

“If we wanted to condense the gist of the report, we could say that EASAC discourages all the innovations that appear in the industrial sector currently dominated by fossil-based plastics”, says François de Bie, Chairman of European Bioplastics (EUBP) in response to the report ‘Packaging plastic in the circular economy’ recently published by the European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC).

Messe Düsseldorf is postponing the leading international trade fair interpack. It will now take place from 25 February to 3 March 2021.

Clariant colour and additive masterbatches made in five plants in Europe and Asia have been awarded OK compost HOME and OK compost INDUSTRIAL labels by the TÜV AUSTRIA Belgium NV testing company.

Carbios, a French company pioneering new bio-industrial solutions to reinvent the lifecycle of plastic and textile polymers, announced today the signing of the European Plastics Pact on the occasion of its official launch in Brussels on March 6th, 2020.

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.

Food safety auditing company Lloyd’s Register has joined the 3R Initiative to help its members develop a new ‘Project Standard’, designed to tackle the global issue of plastic waste.

Biobased chemical company Advanced Biochemical (Thailand) Co., Ltd. has announced a capacity increase at its plant in Map Ta Phut, Thailand.

UK-based chemical industry consultancy Tecnon OrbiChem and the nova-Institute release their latest “Commercialisation updates on bio-based building blocks”.

Specialty chemicals company Arkema is taking action with an ambitious climate plan that is aligned with the 2015 Paris Agreement. This agreement sets out a global framework to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. It also aims to strengthen countries’ ability to deal with the impacts of climate change and support them in their efforts.

Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, has developed a new Carded Airlaid Carded (CAC) line to create a more sustainable three-layer nonwoven for wipes. These can be used for personal hygiene and cleaning purposes

INEOS and UPM Biofuels have today announced a long-term agreement to supply a renewable raw material for new and innovative bio-attributed polymers to be produced at INEOS Köln, Germany.

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

Turbulent times for bio-based polymers in 2019: PLA sold out despite expansion, as did PHA. Bio-based PP became available for the first time, there was increased production of PBAT, PBS, bio-based PE, starch-containing polymer compounds and epoxy resins. The production of, particularly, bio-based PET decreased. At the same time, there is a lack of support from policy makers: bio-based and biodegradable plastics are lumped into the same category as fossil plastics in the Plastic Policy.

BioBTX has successfully attracted the financing it needs to takes the first steps along the path towards the realisation of a commercial-scale plant to produce platform chemicals from waste plastics based on a fully circular and sustainable process. The new plant will represent an important asset for the north of the Netherlands.

Thailand is attracting billions of baht of investments in bioplastics from global and local players seizing the opportunities the country offers as a production hub for bio-based industries due to its abundant raw materials, existing value chain and supportive government policies, the Thailand Board of Investment said.

Avantium, a leading technology company in renewable chemistry, announces that Michelle Jou has been nominated for appointment to its Supervisory Board for a term of four years. The nomination will be submitted to the Avantium Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on 14 May 2020.

Nestlé today announced that it will invest up to CHF 2 billion to lead the shift from virgin plastics to food-grade recycled plastics and to accelerate the development of innovative sustainable packaging solutions.

MarketResearch.biz is releasing a new, comprehensive report on “Bio-Based Construction Polymers Market 2020 || Industry Segment By product, application, and region, Regional Outlook, Market Demand, Latest Trends, Share & Revenue by Manufacturers, Company Profiles, Growth Forecasts – 2029”. The new report analyses the current market size and offers forecasts for the next 10 years of growth of this industry.

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.

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.

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.

Amsterdam-based renewable chemistry company Avantium, has named Bart Welten as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), tapping an executive with 30 years of experience in finance to replace Frank Roerink. Roerink announced in summer that he would be leaving his post at the end of the year.

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.

Recent studies on the biodegradability of bio-based and biodegradable plastics performed by Finnish environment Institute (SYKE) show that Walki’s Bioska films are among the fastest on the market to biodegrade, both in soil and in marine conditions.

Recently announced by the EU Commission, the European Green Deal represents a roadmap towards a European ‘resource-efficient and competitive economy with zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050’, said François de Bie, chairman of European Bioplastics (EUBP), the association representing the interests of the bioplastics industry. The association sees the bioplastics industry as able to play a crucial role in achieving this deal.