They are known throughout the world and admired for their music. Jeremy, Black, Last kiss, Better man: they are just some of the titles of their most famous songs. But Pearl Jam are also supporters of the bioeconomy. The band originally from Seattle and Green Dot, working together with Sea-Lect Plastics, have created a biodegradable luggage tag manufactured locally in the Seattle area. The tags were made as a special gift to members of the band’s popular fan organization, the Ten Club.
An agreement signed yesterday by Italian biotech company Bio-on and Cristal Union will see France’s first facility for the production of PHAs bioplastic from sugar beet co-products.
The two companies, operating in sustainable biochemistry and sugar, alcohol and bioethanol production, will work together to build a production site with a 5 thousand tons/year output, expandable to 10 thousand tons/year.
Yesterday, the French parliament adopted the law on energy transition and green growth proposed by Ségolène Royal, Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy.
The new law creates the opportunities to introduce biobased, compostable plastics to selected types of packaging as well as fruit and vegetable bags.
With the bioplastic developed by Bio-on, it is now possible to create capsules for controlled drug administration inside the human body or for gradual release of active substances in agriculture. The properties of MINERV PHA bioplastic, completely “biobased” and 100% naturally biodegradable, enable the creation of micro and nano particles, both full and hollow, in which the trapped active substance is released gradually, even after months, exploiting the biodegradability of bioplastic. In this way, it is possible to administer directly in the human body numerous types of drugs such as anaesthetics, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, antitumor, hormones, steroids and vaccines. Cosmetic or agricultural use is equally broad.
Global packaging is expected to be a USD 975 billion industry by 2018 with an annual growth rate of 4% which is a key driver for the use of bioplastics. In addition, numerous countries across the world implementing stringent regulations for the use of bio-based polymers for packaging is expected to fuel market growth over the next six years. To say this is a new report published by Grand View Research, Inc., a market analysis company based in California.
With less than one month to go before the official opening of Milan Expo 2015, almost nine million tickets have already been sold and organizers say the event is set to shine. The food-themed universal exposition runs from May 1 through October 31 with a record 53 single-nation pavilions, along with nine clusters representing about 90 countries and theme-based pavilions. About 140 countries in all will participate in Milan Expo 2015, under the theme: Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life. Some 20 million visitors are expected to join in on events that are based on promoting a sustainable global food system and fighting hunger. All these visitors will support the bioeconomy. Why?
Another relevant agreement in the Italian bioeconomy. Biotech company Bio-on and Pizzoli S.p.A., Italy’s largest operator in the potato sector, will collaborate to build Italy’s first PHAs bioplastic production plant using waste product from the potato agro-industrial process.
The European institutions adopted a legislative proposal amending the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) that addresses the challenge of conventional single use plastic carrier bags consumption, and explicitly sanctions the actions of several member states that have already recognized the benefits of compostable bags.
Perstorp, the world leader in ε-polycaprolactones (PCL) technology, marketed under the Capa brand, is stepping up its investment into the fast growing bioplastics market. “World demand is expected to continue to grow at over 20% pa for the foreseeable future, and Capa Thermoplastics are already playing a vital role in enhancing biopolymer performance and biodegradability across a range of bioplastic applications”, Swedish company writes in a note.
Australian headquartered Cardia Bioplastics announced that it is setting up its own film and bag manufacturing plant in São Paulo, Brazil. New purpose-built facilities have been leased and production commencement is scheduled for September 2014. The production machinery costing A$750,000 is funded using vendor finance over a twelve months period. The new factory is expected to deliver a production capacity of 500 million retail carry bags per year. This capacity is over four times greater than that of the current Cardia Bioplastics manufacturing plant in Nanjing, China.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 