Röhm (Darmstadt, Germany; www.roehm.com) says it is developing plastic films using renewable raw materials under the Europlex brand name. Based on polylactic acid (PLA), these films are said to be transparent and have light transmittance of over 92%, high tensile strength, and flexibility. The films have not been biaxially stretched and can be thermoformed, at 55 °C, Röhm said.

Application areas for the film ranges from packaging for food and non-food items – particularly for viewing windows on cardboard packaging – decorative films for insert-mould decoration processes, and printed products like graphic panels. The raw material used to produce the Europlex film is derived from non-genetically modified sugarcane, Röhm added.