Issue 04/2020

News daily upated news

News daily upated news at www.bioplasticsmagazine.com European Bioplastics appoints new Head of EU Affairs in Brussels European Bioplastics the association representing the bioplastics industry in Europe, recently announced the appointment of Joanna Dupont-Inglis as new Head of European Public Affairs. She assumed her position on 1 June 2020. Bioplastics play a crucial role in helping to achieve the European Green Deal. The deal includes the European Union’s transition to a real resource-efficient economy with zero-netgreen-house-gas-emissions by 2050. “I’m delighted to take up the position as Head of EU Affairs at European Bioplastics. Being the first contact point for decision makers and other relevant political stakeholders in Brussels, I’m looking forward to highlighting the important contributions that bioplastics make towards achieving the EU’s ambitious Green agenda”, says Dupont-Inglis, who will be based in Brussels. “With her broad experience in the bioeconomy, we are very happy to have Joanna on board. EUBP has been working together with Joanna for many years. Besides her outstanding technical and political expertise, we also know her for being a strong team player with a remarkable social competence”, says François de Bie, Chairman of EUBP. “This year can be considered of key importance for the bioplastics industry and Joanna entered at just the right time”, he adds. Prior to joining European Bioplastics (EUBP), Joanna Dupont-Inglis held several senior positions at EuropaBio over a period of 10 years, including the Director for Industrial Biotechnology, Deputy Secretary General and Secretary General as of 2018. Joanna also chaired the European Bioeconomy Stakeholder’s Panel throughout the course of its four-year mandate and served for several years as a board member for Suschem, the Sustainable Chemistry Platform. Before her work at EuropaBio, Joanna Dupont-Inglis gathered comprehensive experience in the Brussels policy arena by working for the European Commission’s DG Environment and for two renowned Brussels-based public affairs consultancies. She holds a degree in Environmental Science and European Studies from the University of Sussex and is a board member of the Women in Life Sciences Network. MT www.european-bioplastics.org Braskem recognized by UN Economic Commission Braskem's production of I'm green TM polyethylene, a biobased plastic made from sugarcane, was recognized in mid-May by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Global Compact Network Brazil as one of the most transformational cases in sustainable development in Brazil, in the Industry & Energy category. The recognition was made official during Braskem's participation in the "Big Push for Sustainability," a webinar open to the public organized by ECLAC in partnership with the Global Compact Network Brazil, both UN organizations. Braskem's production of biobased plastic, which commemorates one decade this year, is the result of years of dedication by the company in the research and development of sustainable products. Produced on an industrial scale since the inauguration of the green ethylene plant located in Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul, the initiative has made the company the world's leading producer of biopolymers, with an annual production capacity of 200,000 tonnes of the material. MT www.braskem.com New Materials collaborate BASF (Ludwigshafen, Germany) and Red Avenue New Materials Group (Shanghai, China) have signed a joint agreement that grants Red Avenue New Materials Group the license to produce and sell certified compostable aliphaticaromatic co-polyester (PBAT) according to high BASF quality standards. For that purpose, Red Avenue New Materials Group will build a 60,000 tonnes PBAT plant in Shanghai, using BASF`s process technology in exchange for the access to raw material from this plant which BASF will sell as ecoflex ® . Production at the new plant will start in 2022. “Our successful bio-polyester ecoflex and the innovative ecovio ® are already giving us significant participation in this growing market. The additional available PBAT capacities will substantially strengthen our position,” says Olivier Ubrich, head of BASF’s global business unit Specialty Polymers. “Due to Red Avenue’s commitment and network to develop the Chinese market, their strategically interesting location and their long-lasting good relationship with BASF, we have identified Red Avenue as our preferred partner. ” The BASF biopolymer ecoflex was introduced into the market in 1998 and is certified compostable in accordance with DIN EN 13432 and ASTM D6400. It is used as a blend with other renewable raw materials to compound ecovio, BASF’s certified compostable biopolymer. MT www.basf.com | www.rachem.com 6 bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/20] Vol. 15

daily upated news at www.bioplasticsmagazine.com News New app teaches kids how to recycle Bioplastics manufacturer Novamont, Novara, Italy, recently unveiled a new iPad and iPhone app called ‘Food Scrap Recycling Truck’ that helps teach kids how to sort food waste and to value the environmental benefits of food scrap recycling and composting. Young users can drive a recycling truck as it passes through the neighbourhood to collect food scraps for composting and sort it out into compostable bags from other recycling items on the moving kitchen top conveyor. Kids are allowed to customise their truck and driver choosing the same colours as their municipality, operate the heavy loader and windrow turner to help make the compost rows and visit the lab to learn about composting. On average 94 % of all food scraps produced in the US (34 million tonnes) and 84 % in Europe (50 million tonnes) is still incinerated or buried in landfill where it releases methane, a 25-times more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. The new educational app teaches kids about household waste source separation and the value of producing compost that can help to return nutrients to the soil, capture CO 2 and regenerate the land. Compostable shopping and produce bags can be re-used to collect food scraps and are proven to help increase the residential participation rate of food waste recycling and help reduce conventional plastic bag contamination to compost facilities. Composting products is a great alternative in sectors where recycling is complex or impractical because of the simultaneous use of different materials and contamination by food waste. In these cases, using compostable bioplastics means that these materials and their contents can be included in the separate collection of organic waste, thus helping to improve the recyclability of other waste and prevent precious biomass from being sent to landfills. The app features lots of interactive surprises, is simple to use at the touch of a screen and is available for free download all over the world. AT www.novamont.com | tinyurl.com/app4kids Making polymers out of air Photanol (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and Renolit (Worms, Germany), a manufacturer of high-quality polymer films, sheets and other polymer solutions, have formed a strategic partnership to develop polymers based on CO 2 absorbed from the air in a direct, fully circular and CO 2 - neutral conversion process without using (fossil) oil and gas. Photanol has developed unique technology that reduces the impact of chemical industry on global warming while still providing the benefits of virgin high performance polymers. The process uses light and CO 2 as raw material and produces monomers, i.e. the building blocks for polymers, with the help of cyanobacteria. These bacteria carry out photosynthesis, during which process they absorb carbon dioxide, and emit oxygen. Renolit Board member and General Manager Healthcare Thomas Sampers: “This partnership is bringing a long series of benefits to our healthcare customers and patients, amongst which fully sustainable raw materials, better quality of medical devices due to higher purity of the raw materials and a secured supply-chain. Furthermore Photanol will not only develop and manufacture monomers for the needs of Renolit Healthcare, but also for other applications of our Group.” Veronique de Bruijn, CEO of Photanol: “We are excited to have an experienced partner on our side for the development of circular polymers which will have a huge impact on a global scale. Teaming up with Renolit helps us to bring this fascinating disruptive technology to many markets at competitive cost while taking care of the planet”. bioplastics MAGAZINE is planning a comprehensive On-Site report for the next issue. MT www.photanol.com | www.renolit.com BASF and Red Avenue bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/20] Vol. 15 7