Application News
Application News SunChips PLA Snack Bag SunChips, Frito-Lay’s popular line of multigrain snacks, announced in April in Plano, Texas, USA, that in 2010 it will introduce the first fully compostable snack chip bag made from plantbased materials. The change is designed to significantly improve the environmental impact of its packaging. Recently, the SunChips brand took the first step towards this transformational packaging. The outer layer of packaging on 10 ½ oz size SunChips snacks bags is made from PLA. By Earth Day 2010, PepsiCo‘s Frito-Lay North America division plans to rollout a package for its SunChips snacks where all layers are made from PLA material so the package is 100% compostable. “We know environmentally-friendly packaging is a priority for our SunChips consumer,” said Gannon Jones, vice president, marketing, Frito-Lay North America. “(The) launch of packaging made with 1/3 renewable materials is an important first step towards having a fully compostable chip bag in market by Earth Day 2010.” This packaging innovation is line with the commitment by PepsiCo, Frito-Lay’s parent, to reduce the company‘s impact on the environment through water, energy and packaging initiatives. www.fritolay.com Gucci Shoes With a Heel Made From Liquid Wood The shoes designed by Sergio Rossi, a subsidiary of the Gucci group, are made from renewable resources. The heel is made from a liquid wood that was developed by Fraunhofer researchers in collaboration with their colleagues at the Fraunhofer spin-off Tecnaro GmbH. The days are gone when one could recognise at once shoes produced by ‘green’ and ecologically friendly methods. The new shoe by Sergio Rossi/Gucci, the ‘EcoPump’, has an elegant and rather attractive look about it, but it also has an additional plus point: it is made from renewable resources. The heel is made from a liquid wood. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT) in Pfinztal and Tecnaro GmbH, a Fraunhofer spin-off business, jointly developed the material, known as ARBOFORM ® . But what are we supposed to understand by the term ‘liquid wood’? “For paper manufacturing the pulp and cellulose industry separate wood into its three main components - lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose“, explains Emilia Regina Inone-Kauffmann, team leader at the ICT. “The lignin is however not used in the production of paper. Our colleagues mix the lignin with fine natural fibres from wood, hemp or flax, and natural additives such as wax. They use this to produce plastic granules that can be melted and injection moulded“. There are already several products being made from this bio-plastic material, such as car parts, figures for Christmas cribs, loudspeaker cases and urns. “For the shoe we had to make some technical modifications to the material in order that the heel will stand up to the loading to which it is submitted,“ says Jürgen Pfitzer, managing partner of Tecnaro GmbH. “We managed to do that by making a slight change to the composition“. www.ict.fraunhofer.de www.tecnaro.de Photos: Business Wire 42 bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/09] Vol. 4
www.plastekcards.com World Fair for Beverage and Liquid Food Technology Photo: iStock [m] Biodegradable Plastic Cards Plastek Cards, headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, USA, is proud to introduce biodegradable plastic cards. One of three new plastic cards is made from PLA. “We are very pleased to add these new eco-friendly biodegradable plastic cards to our product line,“ said Peter Tung, Director of Plastek Cards. “We hope to do our part in reducing waste and helping protect the global environment.“ The PLA corn cards are a new family of Plastek Card‘s eco-friendly biodegradable plastic cards. They are manufactured from polylactic acid (PLA). Corn cards look and feel just like the PVC cards, and in addition to the environmental advantages of PLA the durability, life span and printing of the PLA corn cards are all very similar to PVC plastic cards. wob München drinktec Go with the flow. Tamper Evident Products from Clarifoil Clarifoil, the makers of cellulose acetate films for labels, seals, carton windows and lamination, have published a free brochure and samples of their growing range of Integuard tamper evident labels and seals. Integuard tamper evident film has been specially engineered to retain tensile strength necessary for automatic processing but fragment if removal is attempted for instance in store, enabling store staff to tell at a glance if the pack is intact. Effective tamper evidence is desirable in all sectors such as pharmaceuticals, perfume, cosmetics and high end food and drink products, all areas where Clarifoil special-effect films are widely used for pack enhancement. Another area of application is high priced electrical goods, as in mobile phones or MP3 players. Clarifoil Marketing Manager Marion Bauer said: “Tamper evidence continues to concern manufacturers and retailers and we want to provide packaging and label designers and producers with up to date information about Integuard and its uses. They can use the samples provided to test their own products”. www.clarifoil.com Buy your ticket online! www.drinktec.com 14–19 September 2009 New Munich Trade Fair Centre Information Tel. (+49 89) 9 49-1 13 18 . Fax (+49 89) 9 49-1 13 19 info@drinktec.com bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/09] Vol. 4 43
