Application News
Application News Bioplastic for Printers and MFPs OKI Data Corporation, an OKI Group company specializing in the printer business, recently announced it will introduce a bioplastic part consisting of at least 25% (by weight) of plant-based renewable biomass resources in all its printers and MFPs. Products manufactured from March 2011 onward will incorporate bioplastic, marking the first effort among OKI Group companies to use bioplastic in products. OKI Data is currently active in 120 countries, selling approximately 1.1 million printers and MFPs annually. Today’s introduction of bioplastic is expected to reduce its annual CO2 emissions by three tons. “Plant-based renewable bioplastics reduce environmental impact by reducing CO 2 emissions and the petroleum resources consumed,” said Harushige Sugimoto, President of OKI Data. “OKI Data is proactively developing products and technologies to reduce environmental impact. The company has long considered using bioplastic in its printers and MFPs. However, compared to traditional plastic, bioplastics offer formidable challenges in the areas of flame resistance, strength, heat resistance, and formability.” The bioplastic announced today is based on PLA and offers enhanced flame resistance, strength, heat resistance, and formability, as well as high transparency and ease of processing, qualities that allow use of the product to form elements ranging from exterior components to mechanical parts. It is widely used in stationery, electrical home appliances, and office equipment. OKI Data is firmly committed to reducing its CO 2 emissions, having set a goal to cut emissions by 6% relative to 2007 levels by 2012. Introducing bioplastics is one of the ways it intends to achieve this goal. Where possible, the company plans to replace traditional petroleum-derived plastics with plant-based renewable bioplastics in its future printers and MFPs. MT www.okidata.com New Line of Compostable Bags Telles, Lowell, Massachussetts, USA recently announced that Lakeside Plastics Ltd., an innovative film converter headquartered in British Columbia, Canada, will be launching a compostable bag product line based on Mvera B5002, a compostable film product made from a proprietary blend with Mirel bioplastics. Lakeside Plastics has been working with Telles to produce compostable trash liners, lawn and leaf, and kitchen compost bags. The new product line of bags will use Mvera B5002 film material, enabling consumer yard waste and organics diversion to industrial composting. “We are very excited with the superior performance of Mvera B5002 film in terms of strength, rapid composting ability, and that it meets or exceeds ASTM standard D6400 for compostable plastics,” said Stuart MacDonald, chief operating officer with Lakeside. “As we commit to manufacturing compostable bags for the burgeoning North American market, we are confident in doing so with Mvera B5002, that our product line will have wide appeal to the consumer and industrial compost bag segments alike.” “Through Lakeside, we are bringing a tough and faster composting film material to the market,” explained Bob Engle, Telles general manager. “Mvera B5002 film for compost bags has the strength that consumers are asking for. With the rapid composting and D6400 certification to a thickness of 288 µm, Mvera is an excellent material choice for both consumer and commercial organic waste diversion needs.” MT www.lakesidepackaging.net www.mirelplastics.com. 44 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/11] Vol. 6
