In the final installment of Paul Foulkes-Arellano’s Insider View series, the circularity educator at Circuthon Consulting examines the abundance of bio-based feedstocks and their potential for reducing fossil fuel-based materials. He also discusses the need for serious, global legislative changes to help emerging businesses deploy these resources and spark a paradigmatic shift in the packaging industry.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
15 Aug 2023 --- US researchers are developing a technique to build bioplastic from black soldier flies. The flies contain chitin, a non-toxic, biodegradable, sugar-based polymer that can be purified and converted into a similar... Read More
PACKAGING & TECHNOLOGY NEWS
15 Aug 2023 --- Spark Sourcing’s eco-shell has received EN 13430 certification for recyclability. The eco-shell is made from a bio-calcium compound derived from eggshells that reportedly generates a 70% reduction in carbon... Read More
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
10 Aug 2023 --- An opinion paper published in Environmental Impact Assessment Review urges that policymakers should not be discouraged by the disadvantages of bioplastics. The author says industry leaders should promote... Read More
PACKAGING & TECHNOLOGY NEWS
03 Aug 2023 --- Honduras’ economy contains a ready supply of materials for producing bioplastics from agro-food waste, according to new research by universities in Spain and Honduras. Study authors looked at the fabrication... Read More
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
26 Jul 2023 --- Researchers from Ritsumeikan University, Japan, have conducted a comprehensive study to understand bioplastics consumer awareness and packaging preferences in the country. Their findings reveal that Japanese... Read More
24 Jan 2023 --- In this exclusive interview with PackagingInsights, Paul Foulkes-Arellano discusses how a paradigm shift in the packaging sector could be coming in the next decades. Harmful chemicals could be replaced by benign biological solutions across the value chain, he explains, and we look at the hurdles the industry will face to achieve these advances.
06 Jan 2021 --- PackagingInsights sits down with Stephen Croskrey, Danimer Scientific CEO, after the PHA bioplastic leader lists on the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s signature polymer, Nodax PHA, is a 100 percent biodegradable and renewable bioplastic produced using canola oil as a primary feedstock. It is also the first PHA polymer certified as marine degradable. Danimer Scientific is currently producing Nodax at commercial scale from its facility in Winchester, Kentucky, US, and partnering with key manufacturers such as PepsiCo, Nestlé, Bacardi and Columbia Packaging as they introduce biodegradable alternatives to straws, food and beverage containers and flexible packaging. Croskrey outlines how Danimer Scientific is sold out of all production and planning to use its increased capital to significantly increase production to meet its customer’s long-term demand.
18 Oct 2018 --- Mike Jackson of The UK Recycling Association speaks to PackagingInsights during Packaging Innovations 2018 in London about a number of pressing issues including the effects of China’s plastic waste import ban, the future of black plastics, the role of bioplastics, packaging design for recycling, consumer education and the need for simplified recycling symbols.
11 May 2017 --- Currently, bioplastics represent about one per cent of the about 300 million tons of plastic produced annually. But as demand is rising and with more sophisticated materials, applications, and products emerging, the market is already growing by about 20 to 100 per cent per year. According to the latest market data compiled by European Bioplastics, global production capacity of bioplastics is predicted to grow by 50 percent in the medium term, from around 4.2 million tons in 2016 to approximately 6.1 million tonnes in 2021.
