News Composting pilot
News Composting pilot project in China In conjunction with World Environment Day, Ecoplast Technologies Inc (‘Ecoplast’), Wuhan, China, its wholly owned subsidiary in Wuhan, Huali Environmental Technology (‘Huali’), and BASF jointly announced on June 2nd that they have formed a partnership with the Wanke Community in Wuhan to promote composting of source-separated organic waste in certified compostable and fully biodegradable bags made of BASF’s Ecoflex ® and Ecoplast’s PSM. To demonstrate the closed-loop concept for organic waste, the high quality compost produced during the duration of the project (June to August) will be used as organic fertilizer in the community and on farms in Wuhan Xingzhou. “The launch of this joint project in conjunction with World Environment Day aptly exemplifies the theme ‘Green Economy: Does it include you?‘ as it serves to demonstrate how a community can contribute to and benefit from a more sustainable future. The project will serve as a tangible case study in support of waste division policies and the enactment of favorable legislation,” said Xianbing Zhang, Chairman and CEO, Ecoplast. “The potential savings in greenhouse emissions by composting of organic waste has not been well explored in Asia. It is for this reason that BASF has initiated many composting projects worldwide with partners such as Ecoplast. Diverting organic waste from landfills to composting also helps to recover nutrients that would otherwise be lost. As the result, the nutrients can be returned to the soil in the form of compost, which helps to improve soil quality, reduce fertilizer use and serve as a cost-effective alternative for landscaping,” said Dr. Tobias Haber, Head, Specialty Plastics Asia Pacific, BASF. Landfilling of organic matter is environmentally detrimental as it generates methane, a greenhouse gas that is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide. In comparison, industrial composting with compostable and fully biodegradable bags is a distinctly more efficient and effective waste management option for organic waste. www.basf.com www.ecoplastech.com Info: BASF has been actively involved in similar projects worldwide to demonstrate the potential of composting as a feasible and effective waste management option for organic waste. Most recently in Australia, BASF partnered with Woolworth (supermarket chain), Zero Waste Australia and the Murrumbidgee Shire Council in the Cooperation for Organics Out of Landfill (COOL) project, providing proof that composting of organic waste on farm as well as by local councils, can be done safely, hygienically and at a low cost. A video which documents the project over a 12 week period is also available at http://youtu.be/J-x1xsz_6Jw Biobased kids house On 4 June 2012 a Biobased Kidshouse sponsored by Purac was opened by the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation. The Biobased Kidshouse is an initiative of BE-Basic, an international public-private partnership, funded by the Dutch government in the field of sustainable chemistry and ecology. The biobased kidshouse intends to educate children with respect to biobased materials, in order to promote a biobased economy towards future generations. The Biobased Kids House is located in the area Education & Innovation, next to the ‘My Green World’ pavillion at the Floriade in Venlo, The Netherlands, and has been created entirely from innovative, biobased building materials. Every part of the house has been produced from materials based on natural resources and the materials can easily be reused or recycled. Some examples include wall switches and cable ducts made from bioplastics and roof insulation panels made from expanded PLA foam. The project demonstrates how biobased construction can reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. Rop Zoetemeyer, former CTO of Purac, comments: “This project is a good example of educating our children about the opportunities of biobased materials in order to stimulate the next generations to develop a thorough biobased economy”. www.purac.com 8 bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/12] Vol. 7
PRESENTS THE seventh 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 until August 31 st : 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 and to come to Berlin on Nov. 06/07 More details and an entry form can be downloaded from www.bioplasticsmagazine.de/award Sponsors welcome for different award categories The Bioplastics Award will be presented during the 7th European Bioplastics Conference November 06/07, 2012, Berlin, Germany supported by
