& JOINTLY PRESENT THE SIXTH ANNUAL GLOBAL AWARD FOR DEVELOPERS, MANUFACTURERS AND USERS OF BIO-BASED PLASTICS. Call for proposals Enter your own product, service or development, or nominate your favourite example from another organisation Please let us know: 1. What the product, service or development is and does 2. Why you think this product, service or development should win an award 3. What your (or the proposed) company or organisation does Your entry should not exceed 500 words (approx 1 page) and may also be supported with photographs, samples, marketing brochures and/or technical documentation (cannot be sent back). The 5 nominees must be prepared to provide a 30 second videoclip More details and an entry form can be downloaded from www.bioplasticsmagazine.de/award The Bioplastics Award will be presented during the 6th European Bioplastics Conference November 22/23, 2011, Berlin, Germany supported by
News BASF Starts Operations at Expanded Ecoflex Plant BASF has started operations at its expanded plant for the production of the biodegradable plastic Ecoflex ® . Expansion of the existing plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany will increase production capacity for Ecoflex from 14,000 to 74,000 tonnes per year. At the same time, BASF will ramp up compounding capacity for Ecovio ® , a derivative of Ecoflex (basically a compound of Ecoflex and PLA). “We are already successful in the market with our biodegradable polyester Ecoflex and the related innovation, Ecovio. The larger production capacities will enhance our position significantly,” said Dr. Wolfgang Hapke, president of BASF’s Performance Polymers division. “The capacity expansion will also enable us to respond even more effectively to our customers’ wishes.” Ecoflex is an aliphatic-aromatic copolyester (PBAT) that has the properties of conventional polyethylene but is fully biodegradable under industrial composting conditions in accordance with DIN EN 13432. Ecovio is a derivative of Ecoflex that is also biodegradable and that contains up to 75% renewable raw materials. Typical applications are shopping bags, organic waste bags, mulch films for agricultural applications, and food packaging. One of the latest innovations is Ecovio FS Paper, which is used to provide a biodegradable waterproof coating on the interior surfaces of paper cups and cardboard containers. MT www.basf.com bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/11] Vol. 6 9
