Revised EU Waste Package enters into force: On 14th June 2018 the waste legislative texts have been published in the Official Journal of the EU. The new directives will enter into force on 4 July 2018. The revised waste package includes the Waste Framework Directive, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, Landfill Directive, and End-of-life-vehicles Directive. EUBP reported about the implications for bioplastics through the revised legislation. Member States will now have 24 months to transpose those directives into national law.
Bio-On opens PHA production plant in Bologna: A few days ago, Bio-On, one of the leading PHA producers, inaugurated a new production plant dedicated to special PHAs for advanced niche products. The new plant based in Castel San Pietro Terme in the province of Bologna has a current capacity of 1,000 tons per year and expandable to 2,000 tonnes per year. The overall investment in the production hub and new research laboratories is 20 million Euros. Bio-On says it created 40 new jobs. The plant is equipped with the most modern technologies and the most advanced research and development laboratories. New agricultural waste sources for producing biopolymers are continuously tested.
Bio-based multilayer barrier films: Four key players in the bioplastics industry, Eurotech Extrusion Machinery, NatureWorks, Nippon Gohsei, and Sukano, have successfully processed a multilayer transparent bio-based barrier film, offering a potential replacement for conventional fossil fuel-based structures for dry food packaging. The film consists of an inner layer made from NatureWorks’ Ingeo PLA as well as tie and barrier layers using special polymers from Nippon Gohsei. The film is processed at Europeach using a K5A 5 layer blow film lab machine. The use of Sukano’s PLA-based masterbatches offers increased melt strength, and therefore better processability, good transparency and better adhesion during sealing. As an additional benefit, each material used in the film has either been tested and certified or assessed to be biodegradable and industrially compostable according to European norm EN 13432.
Elopak delivered 1 billion 100% renewable beverage cartons: Elopak, an international supplier of paper based packaging solutions for liquid food based in Norway, has announced that they reached a milestone by having delivered over one billion 100% renewable cartons after launching beverage cartons featuring certified renewable polyethylene (PE) in 2014. In 2017, the Elopak further improved its renewable offering by introducing new feedstocks for renewable PE. The company chose to change supplier base to widen its offering of renewable PE and now offers two different sources. One is derived from sugar cane, the other is based on tall oil, a residue from pulp and paper production. Using a renewable feedstock instead of a fossil one, significantly reduces the carbon footprint of the cartons.
