Bioplastic News: Nestle and Metabolix

Nestle Teams Up With Industrial Partners To Sponsor Bioplastic Research

Nestle is going to team up with diverse industrial partners to sponsor research in bioplastics at the Ecole des Mines in Paris. Nestle is reportedly going to sponsor E60000 per year for 5 years in this research.

Nestle said packaging materials derived from renewable resources like bioplastics is one way of reducing the environmental impact of its products.

Anne Roulin, head of global packaging of Nestle, said: “We consider that this is the beginning of a new era of Bioplastics. Today we are just at the start of a long journey in research and development, and a lot more scientific and technical work is required before we have materials that are truly adapted to food packaging needs and can be used on a large scale.”

Metabolix and Telles Announce Availability of Color Concentrates for Mirel(TM) Bioplastics

Metabolix, Inc. today announced that Telles, its joint venture with Archer Daniels Midland Company that produces Mirel(TM) bioplastics, has collaborated with Teknor Color Company to develop a range of color concentrates for use with Mirel resin. The newly developed color concentrates are formulated using Mirel base resins and meet ASTM D6400 and EN 13432 standards for compostability and biodegradability.

"Teknor developed this series of color concentrates for use with Mirel PHA in direct response to customer demands for a wider range of bioplastic colorants," said John Wood, Technical Manager with Teknor Color.

The new Mirel colorants are designed to be useful for a wide range of injection molding, sheet, film, and thermoforming applications. Colors are currently being used in the Mirel injection molding grade for laboratory material handling trays, and several colors have been developed for use in consumer retail products. In addition, a black concentrate is currently being used in the Mirel film grade for agricultural mulch film field trials.

Metabolix Announces Next Generation Injection Molding Grade of Mirel(TM) Bioplastics - Mirel P1003

Metabolix announced today that Telles, the joint venture between Metabolix, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBLX) and Archer Daniels Midland Company that produces Mirel(TM) bioplastics, has developed its next generation of injection molding bioplastic, Mirel P1003, in a collaborative effort with Nypro, a leading global precision plastics molder.

Mirel P1003 is the second generation of Mirel for injection molding, replacing both P1001 and P1002 with a single grade suitable for a wider range of applications. This high performance biobased semi-crystalline polyester is tough, durable, and has excellent resistance to heat, making it a suitable replacement for high performance materials including ABS and polycarbonate. Advanced attributes of Mirel P1003 are overall improved processability, improved flow, faster overall cycle times compared to other biopolymers, and an overall cycle time similar to traditional thermoplastics. Product information including a data sheet and a comprehensive injection molding processing guide can be found on Mirel Plastics.
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