Application News
Application News Eco-Friendly Nappies With their range under the Naturaé label, made from sustainable raw materials such as Mater-Bi from Novamont, WIP (Wellness Innovation Project SpA. from Prato, Italy) is offering - even if only for a tiny slice of the market - a sustainable alternative to the traditional disposable nappy from fossil sources. Every year, about 25 billion nappies are produced in the European Union. Laid end-to-end, they would cover the distance between the earth and the moon (roughly 384,400 km) 32 times. The disposable market supplies more than 98% of the world-wide demand for babies’ nappies. This represents about a billion EUR worth of business. There are no complete regulations in the EU governing this sector, however. On average, 50% of a commercial disposable nappy is made up of non-biodegradable and non-sustainable oil derivatives; the remainder is made of cellulose from trees whose origin is unclear. WIP has therefore set itself the objective of offering products directed at the health and well-being of consumers and protecting the environment at the same time, demonstrating that it is economically sustainable and technologically feasible to make a nappy with low environmental impact. Today the nappy carrying the Naturaé brand-name is the disposable nappy with the highest biodegradability index in the world – on average at least 80%. The declared objective is to increase this to over 90% and start the procedure for obtaining compostability certification. Already, out of the 14 elements which compose the Naturaé nappy, 8 have been completely rethought and made sustainable, representing 60% of the materials used. WIP’s objective is also, where technically possible without compromising the product’s primary function, to eliminate all chemical additives including cosmetic chemicals. Currently, as a result of tests carried out by Parma University, the Naturaé product has been found to be naturally hypoallergenic, nonirritant and non-abrasive. In particular, the collaboration with Novamont is of strategic importance both for developing and perfecting raw materials suitable for transformation technologies, and for research on the biodegradation of nappies and other disposable products. Bio-Sourced SIM Cards Gemalto, headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, recently announced the launch of a pilot of bio-sourced SIM cards by SFR, leading French operator with over 20 million mobile subscribers. This program is the first trial of bio-sourced The bio-sourced SIM card is made from PLA and a small amount of petroleum based biodegradable polymer to reach the temperature and humidity standards needed in Telecom application. This material is easily recyclable and compostable through small scale industrial units and reduces the global ecological footprint of the production process. It can also be incinerated without emission of toxic fumes. “Gemalto and SFR share the same vision in bringing to the market new innovative products that respect the environment,” said Philippe Vallée, Executive Vice President, Telecommunication Business Unit, Gemalto. “The efforts toward sustainable practices and products are part of Gemalto’s overall belief in being a responsible global corporate citizen.” www.gemalto.com www.ecowip.com www.novamont.com 50 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/10] Vol. 5
Application News Compostable Packaging for the Cement Indstry The very first biodegradable and compostable cement bag - BioSac by Ciments Calcia S.A.S., Guerville, France – has been launched into the French market so that the building industry can benefit from a 100% environmentally-friendly solution to the management of wastes on building sites. Bio soap wrapped in compostable package Umbria Olii International, Rome, Italy, introduces a worldwide first - compostable soap wrapping. This biofilm is based on FKuR’s Bio-Flex ® and is used for the packaging of ‘Ecolive‘ laundry soap. ‘Ecolive‘ laundry soap is made from 100% natural olive oil. In order to emphasize their ecological commitment, Umbria Olii International searched for a wrapping film which was made from natural resources and certified as biodegradable (according to EN 13432) while, at the same time, was chemically resistant. “The high content of renewable resources and the appealing glossy surface along with the certified biodegradability of the multilayer bio-film (supplied via Cartotecnica & Poligrafica Veneta) has convinced us“, says Sergio Montano, President of Umbria Olii International. For the bio-wrapping, Bio-Flex F 2110 and Bio- Flex A 4100 CL from FkuR have been chosen. “The unique properties of this multilayer film as well as its straightforward conversion process along with the good printability were the decisive factors in choosing the materials from FKuR“, say Poligrafica & Cartotecnica Veneta who extrude and print the film, respectively. Umbria Olii International is one of the most important Italian industrial users of Olive Oil. After several years of research they have developed and registered an industrial process for soap, unique in its kind. They have a complete cosmetic range under the ‘Olivella‘ brand, and recently added a new product: the laundry soap ‘Ecolive‘. Poligrafica Veneta is a producer of multilayer technical blown film and Cartotecnica Veneta, is a second generation traditional company dedicated to flexo and rotogravure printing. In France alone, the bagged cement market generated nearly 35,000 tonnes of packaging waste in 2008 – and this is currently treated as ordinary waste and disposed of in class II sites or incinerated. Biosac, is the first biodegradable and compostable bag - developed collaboratively by Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients (LCI) with the Barbier, Mondi and Ciments Calcia groups. Nathalie Gorce, Marketing Manager for biolice at LCI, explains: “Conventional cement bags consist of a double layer of kraft-type paper for strength and a polyethylene (PE) ‘free film’ for product conservation. However, this combination of different types of materials prevents the immediate recovery of the packaging. The innovative nature of BioSac comes from the composition of its ‘free film’, which now uses LCI’s biolice to give a technically innovative solution to the problems of managing this type of packaging. “Biolice is made using a process unique on the bioplastics market, using whole cereal grains from a number of specific Limagrain maize varieties. The product‘s innovation lies in the combination of cereal fractions with a biodegradable polymer.” Thanks to its exclusive composition, BioSac conforms to the EN 13 432 standard, concerning packaging that is recoverable by biodegradation and composting. Thus Biosac has also been awarded the OK Compost Label (Accreditation number S145). www.lci.limagrain.com www.ciments-calcia.fr www.umbriaolii.com/ecolive www.fkur.com bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/10] Vol. 5 51
