Application News Busy as
Application News Busy as a Bee Biobiene © (German for ‘bio-bee’) is an innovative range of packaging and foodware service products made entirely from biodegradable and compostable materials, such as co-polyester (PBAT) or PLA-PBATblends. From envelopes to microwavable plates and from packaging chips to party cups, all Biobiene items comply with stringent EN 13432 standards on biodegradability and compostability. So with no recovery obligations for manufacturer or vendor, disposal of Biobiene products is simple and sustainable – where a composting or biowaste disposal infrastructure is available. FSP – Full Service Packaging, a small company from Hilden, Germany with a passion for sustainability has developed the Biobiene range in collaboration with like-minded manufacturers of bioplastics. The range continues to expand. Translucent air cushions in 25μm film quality were introduced in 2009 and green air-cushion sheeting in 2010, both global ‘firsts’ - MT www.fsp-online.com Biobiene © air cushions provide excellent protection for fragile goods in transit. Available in small, medium and large, they can be delivered ready inflated, or on rolls for inflation as needed. Biobiene © air-cushion sheeting is a versatile packaging aid, available in a range of standard lengths up to 5 meters, on large or small rolls. Dutch flower bulbs wrapped in a pouch pack laminate featuring transparent NatureFlex NVS from Innovia Films Flower Bulb Packaging Three Dutch exporters decided to pack their range of flower bulbs in Innovia Films’ transparent, compostable cellulosebased material, NatureFlex NVS. This pouch pack is a tri-part lamination construction of NatureFlex NVS to paper and PLA and was developed by Assenbased converters, Hapece Flexible Packaging. Managing Director of Hapece, Marius Draayer, commented “Our customers were looking for an attractive, quality pack which was eco-friendly, innovative and would ensure the contents were clearly visible. From a converter’s point of view, the addition of NatureFlex NVS to this application has also ensured that the pack can stand upright due to the deadfold properties and stiffness it provides.” The three Dutch exporters who have joined forces on this project are Florex, Kapiteyn and Mantel Holland. They have set up a sub-brand for this range ‘We Pack Nature’ which is underpinned by the old Dutch saying “A better environment begins at home”. “NatureFlex ticks many boxes for both converters and brandowners”, explained Alexander van ’t Riet, Innovia Films’ Global Sales & Marketing Director “It offers not only compostability from a renewable resource but also great technical performance. Innovia Films is delighted to have worked closely with Hapece Flexible Packaging in developing this pack and enabling the We Pack Nature group to realise their objectives on this project.” NatureFlex films are certified to meet the European EN13432, American ASTM D6400 and Australian AS4736 standards for compostable packaging. The wood-pulp is sourced from managed plantations from referenced suppliers operating Good Forestry principals (FSC or equivalent). NatureFlex films typically have a renewable biobased content of some 95% by weight of material according to ASTM D6866. www.innoviafilms.com www.hapece.nl www.wepacknature.com 34 bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/11] Vol. 6
Application News PLA Capsules for Athletic Apparel Track & Field from Brazil, entered the sporting goods arena in 1988 and established the mission of promoting and contributing to people´s health and well-being by offering the best sporting goods possible. Today, they deliver cutting edge products that are rooted on four core principles: product performance, fiber technology, fashionable design and environmental consciousness. To meet all of these pillars, Track & Field combined its retail know-how with an ecological and innovative NatureWorks Ingeo PLA packaging solution. Through this partnership the Track & Field Capsules were created. The Track & Field Capsules are used to stock, showcase and transport the athletic apparel. The Capsules are based on the three R’s: • Re-use – clients are encouraged to use the Capsules, when storing wet outfits after workout and can return the Capsules to the store; • Reduce – Track & Field removed the previous non-ecological packaging of plastic garment sack and cardboard gift box and replaced with one Ingeo Capsule; • Recycle – the Capsules are made from plants instead of oil which makes it annually renewable and leaves a smaller carbon footprint. www.tf.com.br Blue Cat – Cat Litter Box Conventional cat-litter boxes use litter which absorbs fluids. The problem here is that the litter can be used for just one time and after that it has to thrown away. This means that the customer has a lot of awkward work with it. He has to buy, to carry, to handle and to dispose of a big volume of litter. With BLUE CAT the Austrian company Texocon e.U. of Dorf an der Pram, has started a new generation of products on the pet equipment market. The Blue Cat system uses PLA pearls with a special type of filler instead of conventional cat litter. The pearls do not absorb fluids. This characteristic means that Blue Cat litter can be used for a very long time. The Blue Cat concept makes sure that fluids flow away in a closed basin and so also avoids unpleasant odours. The customer simply has to remove the cat dirt – this is the reason why there is just a little wastage of Blue Cat litter. The volume of litter used can be reduced by about 95 % compared to the conventional systems. The bio-waste from the litter tray can be composted. Blue Cat reduces costs, makes handling much easier and saves time. Blue Cat takes care of the environment and does not create any dust in the customer’s home. For the production of the PLA granules Texocon cooperated with Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik (TCKT) in Wels, Austria and Schorm Gesellschaft m.b.H of St. Valentin, Austria. In an under-water granulating system the extruded PLA strands are shaped into their final form. Initially it was not easy to find the right geometry. In first tests, most of the cats did not accept the granules. But after correcting size and density even the most ‘fastidious‘ cats appreciated the new bedding. MT www.blue-cat.at bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/11] Vol. 6 35
