AIMPLAS
Consortium formed to develop compostable materials for single-use plastics
A consortium of plastic manufacturers and technology centres has been created to develop customised compostable materials for single-use plastic packages, carrier bags and tableware. Called "project BIO+", the group is coordinated by Spanish technology centre Aimplas (Valencia; www.aimplas.net) in collaboration with some companies led by Picda (Valencia; www.picda.com) and Granzplast (Valencia; www.granzplast.es).
One of projectBIO+’s goals is to come up with materials that comply with current laws. An example of such legislation is the French ban of disposable tableware from 2020 – see Plasteurope.com of 12.02.2018. The ban will apply if 50% of the material does not come from renewable sources and it cannot be discarded through home composting. Another is a Spanish decree requiring manufacturers to raise public awareness on concepts such as biodegradability of products and composting wastes.
Another challenge is to develop materials for mass-market products that will have the same functionality as those using traditional plastic materials. They should also be competitive in terms of cost.
To achieve projectBIO+’s targets, data on biodegradation processes of various products are to be gathered. Thus, for single-use packages and tableware, which are normally contaminated with food, the materials to be developed must be suitable for home composting. For single-use bags that may accidentally end up in oceans and other bodies of water, biodegradability in a marine environment is a mandatory feature.
The University of Santiago de Compostela (www.usc.es) and three technology centres – Aimplas, Aitiip (Zaragoza / Spain; www.aitiip.com) and Cetim (Senlis / France; www.cetim.fr) – will provide scientific and technical support to companies involved in R&D tasks. Nupik (Barcelona / Spain; www.nupik.com) and Pérez Cerdá Plastics (Alicante / Spain; www.perezcerda.com) will contribute expertise on single-use household items, such as cutlery and glasses. Data on single-use packaging developments will come from Indesla (Alicante; www.indesla.com), a maker of packaging for fruits and vegetables. Thermolympic (Zaragoza; www.thermolympic.es) will tackle developments in packaging for catering.
One of projectBIO+’s goals is to come up with materials that comply with current laws. An example of such legislation is the French ban of disposable tableware from 2020 – see Plasteurope.com of 12.02.2018. The ban will apply if 50% of the material does not come from renewable sources and it cannot be discarded through home composting. Another is a Spanish decree requiring manufacturers to raise public awareness on concepts such as biodegradability of products and composting wastes.
Another challenge is to develop materials for mass-market products that will have the same functionality as those using traditional plastic materials. They should also be competitive in terms of cost.
To achieve projectBIO+’s targets, data on biodegradation processes of various products are to be gathered. Thus, for single-use packages and tableware, which are normally contaminated with food, the materials to be developed must be suitable for home composting. For single-use bags that may accidentally end up in oceans and other bodies of water, biodegradability in a marine environment is a mandatory feature.
The University of Santiago de Compostela (www.usc.es) and three technology centres – Aimplas, Aitiip (Zaragoza / Spain; www.aitiip.com) and Cetim (Senlis / France; www.cetim.fr) – will provide scientific and technical support to companies involved in R&D tasks. Nupik (Barcelona / Spain; www.nupik.com) and Pérez Cerdá Plastics (Alicante / Spain; www.perezcerda.com) will contribute expertise on single-use household items, such as cutlery and glasses. Data on single-use packaging developments will come from Indesla (Alicante; www.indesla.com), a maker of packaging for fruits and vegetables. Thermolympic (Zaragoza; www.thermolympic.es) will tackle developments in packaging for catering.
28.03.2018 Plasteurope.com [239368-0]
Published on 28.03.2018