PLA bottle is used for a
PLA bottle is used for a Noble cause Demonstrating its fresh thinking, Blue Lake Citrus Products, LLC, Winter Haven, Florida, USA, has become the first company to offer all-natural and organic juice beverages in bottles made from NatureWorks TM PLA . Explains Blue Lake president Wade J. Groetsch, the company selected the bio-based resin from NatureWorks for the material’s eco-friendly advantages. “We are always researching new ways to reduce packaging waste and energy in the production of packaging products such as our new bottle,” he says. Since last September, Blue Lake has offered its lines of Noble All Natural and Noble Organics premium juices in a clear, 32-oz PLA bottle molded by Consolidated Container Corp. using an existing, custom mold. Dubbed the “E bottle” by Blue Lake, the package provides a clarity comparable to the company’s previous polyethylene terephthalate bottle, as well as a sufficient oxygen barrier for the products’ 60- day shelf life. Noble juices are cold-packed, so PLA’s lower melt index is not an issue during filling. “However, we do have to control the temperature of the transportation and warehousing of bottles,” Groetsch relates. Based on its 2006 sales, Blue Lake estimates that the switch to PLA will save the fossil-fuel equivalent of burning 114,000 gal of gasoline and will save greenhouse-gas emissions equivalent to driving a car more than 2.7 million miles in the U.S. www.bluelakecitrus.com www.cccllc.com This news was previously published in Packaging Digest, Feb. 2007, © Reed Business Information DuPont introduces PLA modifier FDA-compliant for food packaging DuPont Packaging has announced expansion of its DuPont Biomax ® Strong family of polymer additives to include an FDA compliant grade for food contact applications. Biomax Strong polymer additives improve the performance of PLA packaging. New Biomax Strong 120 is a polymer additive that toughens PLA packaging materials while maintaining compliance with food contact requirements in the United States (FDA), and in Europe. A similar additive was introduced in August 2006 for non-food applications. Both grades of Biomax Strong provide improved toughness performance with minimal reduction in package clarity. “Offering a food contact compliant grade of Biomax Strong gives DuPont a way to help food marketers take better advantage of an environmentally preferred solution in packages such as clamshells used in fresh produce sections,” said Shanna Moore, global market manager for DuPont Packaging. “We are firmly committed to developing sustainable solutions, including solutions that improve the performance of other sustainable offerings in the market,” Moore said. “By improving the performance of bio-based and biodegradable products, Biomax Strong can help the packaging industry deliver high performance at a competitive price.” DuPont – one of the first companies to publicly establish environmental goals 16 years ago – has broadened its sustainability commitments beyond internal footprint reduction to include market-driven targets for both revenue and research and development investment. The goals are tied directly to business growth, specifically to the development of safer and environmentally improved new products for key global markets. www.dupont.com bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
Plantic raised £20 million of new funds Development project for barrier resins for plastic bottle applications Plantic Technologies Limited, from Altona, Victoria, Australia, a producer of starchbased packaging, is pleased to announce that it has raised £20 million of new funds on May 23 on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM). Plantic will trade under the symbol ‘PLNT’ “The new funds will enable us to expand our range of unique biodegradable plastics. Our vision is for consumers everywhere to use Plantic-based products that play a significant role in reducing the world’s waste problem,” said Grant Dow, Managing Director and CEO of Plantic. Plantic’s proprietary technology is based on the use of high amylose corn starch sourced from renewable resources that are not genetically modifed. Having developed the core formulations and initial applications, Plantic aims further to develop, commercialise and distribute Plantic ® by creating additional applications across a variety of industry sectors. To that end, the company has partnered with a number of plastics and packaging companies jointly to develop, commercialise and/or market a new range of applications through its partners’ established manufacturing and distribution channels. Among others Plantic has a development agreement with Visy Industries Pty Ltd in Australia to develop barrier resins for rigid injection stretch blow moulded containers and bottles. The aim will be to use Plantic as a barrier layer within multi-layer containers (e.g. bottles and jars) for goods that require protection from oxygen ingress or carbonation loss, as in the case of carbonated beverages. This would allow existing PET bottles which require a barrier layer to be recycled without the need first to recover the barrier material which in itself is not recyclable. www.plantic.com.au “Bioplastics in Packaging“ Exhibition at Interpack 2008 Large group exhibition and stage programme announced Bioplastics and biopackaging will be presented in a large group exhibition at interpack 2008, to be held from 24-30 April 2008 at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre. With a planned total exhibition area of 1,000 m 2 , the exhibition space will be more than triple the size of the interpack 2005 „Innovationparc Bioplastics in Packaging“. The organising trade association European Bioplastics is expecting more than 30 exhibiting companies and 10,000 trade visitors to attend. The event represents a global platform to showcase the progress of the bioplastics industry. European Bioplastics is offering companies from the entire value chain the opportunity to demonstrate their state of the art technology development. This includes raw materials, products, processes and machinery. The attractiveness for exhibitors, trade visitors and media will be further enhanced by an interesting supporting programme including podium discussions and presentations. European Bioplastics will invite politicians and industry and media representatives to discuss bioplastics in the context of the sustainable development, climate change and resource debate. Biobased and biodegradable plastics have shown a boom-like development in compostable packaging and other applications in recent years. bioplastic study bioplastics24.com... A worldwide comprehensive bioplastics study More than 40 plastics by 30 manufacturers Intensive material testing and data research Comparative presentation of the technical characteristics and processing properties of tested biodegradable materials Additional summary on the current international market situation for thermoplastic bio polymers In cooperation with the Institute for Recycling - Wolfsburg, Germany bioplastics24.com... … is the new information and market platform for the bioplastics industry … provides an overview over current bioplastic news and events … offers comprehensive background information on the benefits of bioplastics … comprises an industry directory and market overview More information at www.bioplastics24.com bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/07] Vol. 2
