Plastics For Your Future Another New Resin For a Better World Bio-Flex® A 4100 CL for transparent blown fi lm applications FKuR Kunststoff GmbH | Siemensring 79 | D - 47877 Willich Tel.: +49 (0) 21 54 / 92 51-0 | Fax: +49 (0) 21 54 / 92 51-51 | sales@fkur.com www.fkur.com
Editorial dear readers I’m sure that almost everybody in the plastics industry knows that famous scene from ‘The Graduate’ (1967) with Dustin Hoffmann, where Mr. McGuire says: “I just want to say one word to you: Plastics … there‘s a great future in plastics”. But who knows the scene from another Hollywood movie, this time with James Stewart, and one that is about 20 years older? This scene even foresees the great future of bioplastics! Please visit www.bioplasticsmagazine.de/movieclip to see the 10 second clip from ‘It’s a wonderful World’ (1946). In fact, as early as in the first decades of the last century Henry Ford applied soy-based plastics for automotive applications (bM 01/2007) Now – let’s talk about this issue of bioplastic MAGAZINE. It’s almost a tradition that in one of our first issues each year we run a special editorial focus on bioplastics in automotive applications. And once again we are pleased to say that we can report on new developments and applications. The second highlight in this issue is on foams. From coloured loose fill chips used as a toy for kids through elastic foams for the soles of shoes to E-PLA, a particle foam comparable to the polystyrene foam that we all know well through its use in the packaging of domestic electronic equipment etc. We have a veritable kaleidoscope of applications. Once in a while we receive press releases about ‘biodegradable’ PET bottles or other so called ‘oxo-degradable’ plastics. We hesitate to publish such press releases in bioplastics MAGAZINE, as long as we are not totally convinced about the biodegradability in terms of a proven complete assimilation of the plastics by microorganisms. We consider plastics to be biodegradable if they fulfill the internationally accepted standards such as ISO 17088, EN 13432, EN 14995 or ASTM 6400. The oxo-materials might be degradable by UV or heat, but within our declared concept they are certainly not biodegradable … bioplastics MAGAZINE Vol. 4 ISSN 1862-5258 bioplastics MAGAZINE is read in 85 countries Highlights: Automotive Applications Foam Politics: LCA Position Paper of European Bioplastics | 32 Biodegradability - facts and claims | 28 Basics: Basics of PLA | 38 01 | 2009 I hope you enjoy reading this issue of bioplastics MAGAZINE and look forward to your comments, opinions or contributions. Yours, Michael Thielen bioplastics MAGAZINE [01/09] Vol. 4
