A year-long experimental trial in Spanish greenhouses by Bayer CropScience has confirmed that using twine and clips made from Novamont’s compostable bioplastic Mater-Bi contributes to solving the problem of the end-of-life of waste products in agricultural crops.
The items in Mater-Bi met all requirements for strength, resistance and flexibility over the entire crop cycle under the most extreme climatic conditions, both company claim. At the end of the crop cycle, the twine and clips were collected together with plant waste and processed in an industrial composting plant run by SACh (Servicios Ambientales Las Chozas – a company that manages and processes agricultural waste in composting facilities), producing a high-quality compost. The new compostable items, which have an ISO 14067:2018-certified carbon footprint, helped to simplify and increase the efficiency of managing plant waste, which can be composted without needing to separate out plastic materials. This also avoids the accidental build-up of non-compostable plastics in the soil.
“At Bayer CropScience, a company committed to agricultural innovation, we looked for alternatives to the traditional plastics used in our experimental fields. Our goal was to find innovative solutions to promote the more sustainable management of the end-of-life of waste products in agricultural crops. We found the solution in the biodegradable and compostable items made from Novamont’s Mater-Bi material, which we trialled with various crops over a whole year on over 80 hectares, with excellent results,” said Alejandro Caravaca, Head EMEA Veg R&D Sustainability and Outreach for Bayer CropScience.
“Mater-Bi, developed through over 30 years of research and innovation at Novamont, is constantly evolving to achieve greater sustainability and circularity, in order to ensure the ever more efficient use of renewable resources thanks to an increasingly integrated, wholly European sector. We are proud that our agricultural solutions are deemed suitable by such an important company as Bayer CropScience. And that we can help farmers to improve the sustainability of their production cycles and contribute to guaranteeing soil quality,” said Marco Pecchiari, Novamont Head of Ecology of Product and Environmental Communication.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 