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Foreword
The longevity of plastic materials and
their degradation to produce microplastic fibres has made biodegradable
materials, an attractive proposition. This has led to an increase in packaging
labelled ‘Compostable’, although these materials require varied conditions and
timescales to degrade fully. Some of these materials are suitable for home-composting
whilst others requiring intensive industrial processing, this has created confusion
for some consumers. Although these materials have become commonplace, access to
industrial compost processes is not readily achievable in the UK. This has led
to a backlash through academic research, commercial and policy decisions as many
of these materials have a comparable environmental impact to non-biodegradable
plastic if not processed correctly at end-of-life.
Sustainable food distributor Abel & Cole has announced that it will
no longer be using compostable plastics in its food packaging. This decision
was based on concerns that...
Other News this Month Includes:
Policy
- Bioplastics industry writes to commission
presidency regarding consequences of leaked directive
Markets
- Deliveroo invests in recyclable and compostable
foodservice packaging
Research & Development
- An environmental merit order for converting
sugars into biobased chemicals and plastics
- Valorisation of humins to high value-added products
- More...
Polymers
- TotalEnergies Corbion stimulates recycling of PLA
- Huntsman Develops Breakthrough
Bio-Based Polyurethane System
- More...
Chemicals
- Phycus produces first USDA certified cosmetic bio-based glycolic
acid
- World’s largest CO2-to-methanol plant starts
production
- More...
Consumer Products
- Pharmaceutical packaging: first compostable stick pack
made of bio-based raw materials
- TIME bicycles gravel bike features Bio-Based Dyneema®, the
World’s Strongest Fiber®
- More...
Events
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