Berlin, 29 May 2018 – The European Commission presented an ambitious new Directive to tackle marine litter by introducing a number of measures including reduction and restriction of selected single-use plastic products, such as disposable balloon sticks, straws, cutlery, plates, cups and food containers. “The proposal is a meaningful addition to existing legislation and [...]
As part of the Circular Economy 100 (CE100), an innovation programme of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a new report on Renewable Materials for a Low-carbon and Circular Economy has been published together with the companies and CE100 partners Essity, IKEA, Royal DSM and Tetra Pak. According to the report, renewable materials present significant market [...]
On 18 April, the European Parliament approved the package to update the EU waste legislation, including a revision of the Waste Framework Directive and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. Apart from new ambitious recycling and landfilling targets to boost the re-use of valuable materials in waste, the new legislation also acknowledges that bio-based [...]
From 2023 onwards, separate collection of bio-waste will be mandatory across Europe in order to increase the overall amounts of separately collected waste and to help meet the ambitious recycling targets set out in the new EU waste rules. Yet, the separate waste collection systems (including for bio-waste) still vary widely among the 28 [...]
A report from bioeconomy consultants NNFCC has found that a paradigm shift from oil-based plastic to plastics produced from renewable materials and designed to be recyclable or biodegradable, offers the potential to address the issues with plastics while retaining its many benefits. Adrian Higson, Lead Consultant Bio-based Products at NNFCC said in an interview: [...]
Registration is now open for the leading bioplastics event in Europe – the 13th European Bioplastics Conference taking place on 4/5 December 2018 at the Titanic Chaussee Hotel in Berlin, Germany. Register before 30 June 2018 and save up to EUR 300 with the early bird rate! This year’s conference will focus on advanced innovations [...]
NatureWorks names Richard Altice new President and CEO: On 24 April, NatureWorks' board of directors named Richard Altice as the company's new President and Chief Executive Officer, replacing Marc Verbruggen, who led the company from 2008 to his retirement in 2017. Altice comes to NatureWorks from PolyOne Corporation where he was Senior Vice President [...]
On 16 January 2018, the European Commission published its Communication ‘A European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy’. According to the Commission, this proposal is an ambitious step towards making the European plastics system more resource-efficient and drive the change from a linear to a circular system. Bioplastics provide crucial impulses for innovation [...]
Concerns about harmful chemicals, health and environmental effects lead more and more parents and toymakers alike to switch to high-quality, sustainable, and safe toys made from bio-based instead from petroleum-based materials. Next to a growing number of new start-ups developing bioplastics toys, big players such as Lego and Hasbro are also investing heavily in [...]
Without a doubt, this is the coolest (pun intended) news about an application for bioplastics. Electrolux, the leading group of global household product brands, unveiled the world’s first concept fridge made of bioplastics. All visible parts of the refrigerator prototype are made of bioplastics. The material used in the refrigerator is derived from renewable [...]
