Bioplastics to grow at a 41.4% CAGR from 2010 to 2015

According to new report : Bioplastics Technologies and Global Markets, Bioplastics will grow at a significant pace over the next 5 years. The total worldwide use of bioplastics is valued at 571,712 metric tons in 2010. This usage is expected to grow at a 41.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2010 through 2015, to reach 3,230,660 metric tons in 2015.

By 2010, ready access to crops such as soybeans, corn, and sugarcane moved the United States strongly into bioplastics. North American usage is estimated at 258,180 metric tons in 2010 and is expected to increase at a 41.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach 1,459,040 metric tons in 2015.

Use of bioplastics got off to a faster start in Europe than in the United States. European usage is now reported at 175,320 metric tons in 2010 and is expected to increase at a 33.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach 753,760 metric tons in 2015.

Market forces, especially increasing focus on environmental threats such as global warming and disposal of products containing toxic materials, have strongly driven development and early use of bioplastics.

Packaging of the Week: ExpandOS™, “Expand On-Site”

ExpandOS™ Unveils a Protective, Recyclable Packaging Material That Reduces Damage and Labor Cost for Shippers

A new high-performance packaging material is cutting costs for shippers of fragile products, including semi-conductors, medical equipment, veterinary and medical supplies, lighting fixtures, dinnerware and office supplies. The paperboard pyramids from ExpandOS™, which stands for “Expand On-Site”, are 100% recyclable and made from post-industrial waste paper, which has earned ExpandOS™ the endorsement of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

“ExpandOS has a very low carbon footprint when compared to other packaging materials,” said Jeff Boothman, president of the company. “The product is made from 100% post-industrial waste. Carbon is only generated through energy used to die cut sheets of ExpandOS pyramids.”

Each 1,000 pounds of post industrial waste ExpandOS uses averts the need to re-pulp the paper, saving 888 lb of CO2 that would otherwise be produced in the re-pulping process. That’s the equivalent of taking 3.9 cars off the road for a week.

Read more...

Multifunctional paperboard tray offers flexibility, extended shelf life

Extended shelf life, multi-functionality and sustainability are benefits claimed by Stora Enso for the upgraded version of its DeLight microwavable and ovenproof MAP tray.

The Finnish company said the enhanced paperboard tray can now also be used in conventional ovens and is suitable for freezing, as well as being microwave friendly. The original format was launched last year solely as microwave packaging.

“The tray is well-suited for sensitive products that require cold storage and a modified atmosphere package, as the package's good protective properties maintain the product's freshness, and its suitability for the oven, microwave and freezer make it multifunctional” said a company statement.

The packaging also combines the best aspects of two materials: environmentally friendly paperboard and good barrier properties of plastic, Stora Enso’s Johanna Linden told FoodProductionDaily.com.

”Paperboard has replaced aluminium as the material for the tray because we believe it is easier to recycle as it can be placed in the same recycling containers as milk and juice cartons” she added. “Our lifecycle analysis showed paperboard has a lower carbon footprint than aluminium”

Stora Enso said it had combined paperboard and plastic in a new way to get packaging that is more rigid and easy to handle. This had been achieved by using an extrusion process on the tray’s rim and then fixing the polypropylene film to this extended ridge.

MAP shelf life extension

The packaging, which the company developed for Finnish fish processing firm V. Hukkanen, is its first ovenproof modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). This development offers significantly shelf life extension for products, said Stora Enso. The MAP technology gives beef a typical shelf life of 12 days, pork 9 days and 18 days for chicken.

The company said it also developed an innovative injection moulding technology to form the trays.

“This gives brand owners a much wider choice of shapes than the conventional square or rectangular trays,” said Linden. “Our system means we can make forms as diverse as ‘V’ shapes or clouds. Companies can really think outside the box and we will try to offer a solution.”

The paperboard substrate also offers very good printability both on both the bottom and sides of the tray.

Source

Plastique, l'ennemi intime : VERS DES BIOPLASTIQUES ?

Il existe plusieurs solutions alternatives à l'universel plastique. Beaucoup d'écologistes et d'associations appellent au retour du verre pour l'emballage des aliments et des produits pour bébés, au remplacement des innombrables sacs en plastique par des sacs en papier recyclable et recyclé.

Mais, surtout, le plastique biodégradable, fabriqué à partir de ressources renouvelables (maïs, pomme de terre, patate douce, blé, canne à sucre, etc.) ou de pétrole, semble constituer la solution de rechange à l'indestructible matériel.

Ne nous réjouissons pas trop vite, même si la filière du nouveau plastique et son marché connaissent une expansion lente – estimée à 1 million de tonnes en 2011 – quoique prometteuse. Coca Cola, par exemple, a annoncé son intention de produire 30% de ses bouteilles en plastique à partir de matières végétales. Mais le bioplastique rencontre déjà de sérieuses difficultés : où trouver les terres pour produire la monoculture permettant sa fabrication en masse ?

Opposera-t-on les quantités d'eau, importantes, nécessaires à sa fabrication à celles utilisées pour la production vivrière ou le bétail ? L'énergie grise perdue dans les transports des céréales ne va-t-elle pas être colossale et polluante ?

Quant au bioplastique à base de pétrole, s'il ne veut pas devenir un gadget de l'industrie chimique, il doit être dégradable à 90 % pour mériter le label bio. Toutes ces questions demeurent ouvertes, et y répondre prendra du temps. Mais, à l'époque du grand vortex d'ordures et de l'effondrement de la spermatogenèse, existe-t-il d'autre solution que produire des biens recyclables, sains et biodégradables ? Et espérer vivre demain dans un monde… durable ?

Vous pouvez lire l’intégralité du dossier sur LeMonde.fr

Plastique, l'ennemi intime : PLASTIFICATION DU MONDE

Que répondent les industriels du plastique à de telles critiques ? Ils vous renvoient à leur communication, très bien faite et n'évitant pas les questions dérangeantes. D'abord, expliquent-ils, eux utilisent les hydrocarbures pour faire des produits utiles, pratiques, bon marché qui facilitent la vie quotidienne des gens – cela dit, en bout de chaîne, il faut bien les brûler ou s'en débarrasser.

Ensuite, ils ne sont responsables ni de l'incurie de certains citoyens et des industriels – qui jettent n'importe où leurs ordures ou ne les trient pas –, ni d'un recyclage insuffisant ou défectueux par les services publics, ni du suremballage par les marques. Ils n'ont pas tort.

Nous participons tous, producteurs et consommateurs, à la plastification du monde. Quant aux dangers médicaux associés à la migration du BPA et des phtalates dans le corps, les industriels mettent en avant des études qui les minimisent, menées par des scientifiques… ayant travaillé pour eux.

Or, depuis des années, ces études ont été contredites par de très nombreuses recherches indépendantes, ou menées par des sociétés médicales reconnues en Europe comme aux Etats-Unis. De son côté, le neurobiologiste Frederick vom Saal, de l'université du Missouri-Columbia, avance que l'industrie du plastique se comporte comme hier les cigarettiers : "Distorsion, mensonge, tentatives de discrédit."

Il affirme qu'ils ont tenté de l'acheter pour qu'il renonce à publier ses premiers travaux sur le bisphénol A. Il reste, comme le font remarquer les industriels, que nous n'allons pas supprimer l'usage des produits chimiques dans les emballages comme dans quantité d'objets utiles en plastique ou en matériel composite.

L'évaluation des risques doit être faite, des normes doivent être établies. C'est dans cette perspective que l'Union européenne (UE) a adopté, en 2005, à l'initiative des ministres de l'environnement, le système Reach (Règlement sur l'enregistrement, l'évaluation et l'autorisation des substances chimiques), obligeant les industriels à prouver l'innocuité de tout produit mis sur le marché.

"No data, no market", décrète Reach ("pas de renseignement sur les risques, pas de mise en vente"). Depuis, l'industrie chimique dénonce les bureaucrates de Bruxelles, brandit le spectre du chômage, si bien que Greenpeace a publié, en 2006, une étude intitulée "Lobby toxique. Ou comment l'industrie chimique essaie de tuer Reach".

La Suédoise Margot Wallström, commissaire européenne à l'environnement de l'Union jusqu'en 2004, déclare dans le film Plastic Planet : "Les industriels ont longtemps espéré faire échec à toute la réglementation." Une musique connue, non ?

Vous pouvez lire l’intégralité du dossier sur LeMonde.fr

Plastique, l'ennemi intime : BISPHÉNOL A, PHTALATES ET SPERMATOGÉNÈSE

Sur Terre, nous produisons 260 millions de tonnes de plastique par an, ce qui correspond à 30 kg par habitant – pour une matière si légère, cela équivaut à 85 paires de chaussures de jogging, 2 000 brosses à dents ou 6 000 sacs d'emballage.

Prenez le bisphénol A, ou BPA, une molécule facilitant la plastification, utilisée dans les tétines et les biberons. Un groupe de 38 experts américains, dont l'étude a été confirmée par soixante autres travaux, a montré que le BPA migre dans le lait, puis dans la thyroïde et les organes sexuels des bébés.

Sont encore incriminés les phtalates, des additifs qui rendent le plastique souple et flexible, très présents dans tous les objets en PVC : eux aussi se déplacent dans le corps, affectent les organes de reproduction, surtout chez les petits. Leur présence dans la fabrication des jouets a été prohibée par un décret du 9 novembre 2006.

Certains d'entre eux, comme le DHEP, ne doivent plus être utilisés dans aucun cosmétique, car ils peuvent endommager le fœtus et réduire la fertilité.

Des études répétées montrent que BPA et phtalates, libérés progressivement lorsque le plastique est chauffé ou fréquemment lavé avec des détergents, agissent comme des perturbateurs du système hormonal et endocrinien, pénètrent les testicules et réduisent la spermatogenèse.

Depuis plusieurs années, nombre de recherches médicales internationales, comme celles de la Société internationale d'endocrinologie, tendent à établir que l'accumulation des additifs du plastique, des composés volatiles des peintures et des parabens, les conservateurs contenus dans les cosmétiques, participent à la baisse massive de la fertilité chez les Occidentaux. Jusqu'à moins 40 % du nombre de spermatozoïdes chez certains hommes en vingt ans. Des études sanitaires associent BPA et phtalates au développement de l'obésité et du diabète.

Autrement dit, si nous voulons survivre au post-modernisme, nous devons entrer dans l'âge du principe de précaution.

Vous pouvez lire l’intégralité du dossier sur LeMonde.fr

Plastique, l'ennemi intime : "SIXIÈME CONTINENT"

Si les océans et les mers ont toujours été une poubelle de choix pour les hommes – selon l'ONG Oceana, on y jette 675 tonnes d'ordures chaque heure –, leurs eaux et les algues finissaient par dégrader et annihiler les détritus. Mais pas le plastique. Aujourd'hui, la grande zone de détritus du Pacifique est estimée à la taille de l'Etat du Texas, voire de l'Europe centrale – d'où son surnom : le "sixième continent".

Il faut savoir que les Américains consomment 2,5 millions de bouteilles en plastique par heure et 25 milliards de tasses à café en polystyrène par an. Chaque année, ils produisent 6,8 millions de tonnes de plastique. Sur cette masse considérable, seules 450 000 tonnes sont recyclées ou incinérées.

Vous pouvez lire l’intégralité du dossier sur LeMonde.fr

Plastique : l'ennemi intime

Un excellent dossier sur les plastiques publié dans le quotidien français LeMonde. Je partage avec vous quelques passages : inquiétant, alarmant, effrayant, préoccupant…et aussi les solutions alternatives aux plastiques tels que le papier et les bioplastiques.

Vous pouvez lire l’intégralité du dossier sur LeMonde.fr

New Studies: Flexible packaging and Bioplastics

Flexible packaging sales revenue forecast to rise 3.4% this year

The Flexible Packaging Assn. predicts U.S. sales revenue to reach $27.3 billion this year. Also, raw materials pricing supplants the economy as the primary concern of survey respondents.

Providing a historical outlook of the flexible packaging industry, the “2010 FPA State of the Flexible Packaging Industry Report” is prepared by the Business & Economic Research Div. of the Flexible Packaging Assn.

Specifically, sales revenue is expected to increase 3.4% to $27.3 billion this year, up from $26.4 billion. The FPA reports that flexible packaging represents about 18% of the estimated $143 billion U.S. packaging market.

Read more…

Bioplastics: Technologies and Global Markets

• Bioplastics will grow at a significant pace over the next 5 years. The total worldwide use of bioplastics is valued at 571,712 metric tons in 2010. This usage is expected to grow at a 41.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2010 through 2015, to reach 3,230,660 metric tons in 2015.

• By 2010, ready access to crops such as soybeans, corn, and sugarcane moved the United States strongly into bioplastics. North American usage is estimated at 258,180 metric tons in 2010 and is expected to increase at a 41.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach 1,459,040 metric tons in 2015.

• Use of bioplastics got off to a faster start in Europe than in the United States. European usage is now reported at 175,320 metric tons in 2010 and is expected to increase at a 33.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach 753,760 metric tons in 2015.

Read more…

Over Packaging: Sainsbury’s faces court rap

A council has launched a landmark legal case against the supermarket giant Sainsbury's for using too much packaging on a fresh joint of beef.

Lincolnshire council's trading standards claim "excessive" wrapping around the meat is damaging to the environment. The case is believed to be the first time a major supermarket has been prosecuted for failing to stay within acceptable levels of packaging.

Read more…

'snip and slide' packs: The future of meat packaging

Waitrose is set to roll out a new meat packaging format from next month that it says could save 90 tonnes of plastic waste a year.

The 'snip and slide' packs will reach shelves in October and initially used for minced and diced meat. The packaging is snipped open and the product slides into the pan.

Waitrose said the flow-wrap packs were lightweight but robust enough to withstand other items being placed on top of them in a shopping basket.

Meat buyer Andy Boulton said the new packs were a response to consumer demand for a practical way to cut waste.

"These packs are more slim-line that gives more room in shopping bags, fridges and freezers. With the added benefit of cutting waste by half at no extra cost, I predict that this style of packaging will be a real hit," said Boulton.

"Feedback from customers has already been really positive as they can still buy the same quality meat products but will be minimising waste."

Source

100% home compostable packaging: Paperboard coated with Novamont’s Mater-Bi

Italian organic products distributor Ecor, together with Italian bioplastics maker Novamont and agricultural group Filogea, has developed a new 100% home compostable packaging format for ready-to-eat washed salads.

Launched at the SANA organic food and agriculture fair in Bologna yesterday, the project partners said the aim of the development was to come up with a pack that preserved and protected the salad but that also met the sustainability requirements of the organic consumer.

The new package comprises a folded tray manufactured from paperboard coated with Novamont’s Mater-Bi starch-based bioplastic enclosed in a Mater-Bi film.

All components of the pack are 100% compostable and can be disposed of into the kitchen waste stream. Novamont also said the new pack incorporates no GMO components.

“Filogea salads will be the first to be distributed with the eco-packaging developed with Novamont,” said Roberto Zanoni, general manager of Ecor NaturaSì. “We also plan to extend the scope of this experimental project to provide a sustainable packaging solution for other IV range bio products.”

Novamont CEO Catia Bastioli said the aim of the project was to demonstrate that consumers wanting to follow “eco” principles need not compromise on quality.

“The use of biodegradable and compostable packaging can be a tool to maximise the recovery of material through composting and recycling, with enormous benefits in terms of environmental sustainability, especially when, as in this case, the product has such a short shelf life,” she said.

Source

Cascades : Repenser l’emballage par la performance et l’innovation verte

Ce mercredi je suis invité par Cedric Sportes à donner une conférence dans le cadre de son cours sur les emballages éco-responsables à L’École de design industriel de l’UdeM.

Ma présentation s’intitule, Cascades : Repenser l’emballage par la performance et l’innovation verte

Je parlerai entre autres de l’éco-conception chez Cascades, qui depuis ses débuts, a privilégié la fabrication de produits éco-conçus respectueux de l’environnement. Pour Cascades l’éco-conception est une source d’innovation et une démarche profitable.

En offrant sur le marché des emballages éco-conçus, Cascades s’engage à :

• Innover dans le respect de l’environnement
• Intégrer l'éco-conception dans le cadre du développement de nos emballages
• Garantir la conformité des produits à la législation et à la réglementation environnementale

Plusieurs exemples d’emballages industriels seront présentés.

Intelligent shelf life indicator could slash food waste

A new intelligent technology that gives a running countdown of a product’s shelf life by analysing time and temperature data could replace traditional ‘use by’ dates on food labels, said the Norwegian company spearheading the development.

TimeTemp said its innovative shelf life indicator is able to more precisely measure the freshness of food items as they pass through the supply chain from factory to consumer and could lead to a significant reduction in the amount of waste produce.

The firm said processors have little control over the temperatures their goods are exposed to throughout the value chain. Consequently, they often mark their products with a shorter shelf life as a precautionary measure which can mean a lot of edible food is thrown away. Norwegian food retailers discard over 50,000 tonnes of food annually, said TimeTemp.

Intelligent technology

Driven by the need to address these issues, the company has developed the innovative device, which is a small self-adhesive label attached to food products. It contains a range of non-toxic chemicals which react and change colour according to time and temperature. The chemical reaction is activated at the packaging line of the food producer and follows each item from production to consumer. The reaction shows the time left before expiration of that product in accordance with the actual degradation of the food item – which is illustrated and in an easy-to-read graphical format, said TimeTemp.

The firm said the intelligent packaging technology is applicable for all products where quality and lifespan depend on time and temperature variables during storage, as well as items where quality depends on maturity and ageing. Items such as meat, poultry, dairy and even bakery products would potentially benefit from using the technology.

“The existing practice of setting expiration dates on foods or other temperature sensitive products – such as ‘best before’, ‘use by’ and ‘display until’ - is just a presumption of a product’s actual life span,” TimeTemp general manager Christian Aasland told FoodProductionDaily.com. “To set such a date, one needs to guess what temperature the product will be exposed to throughout the cold chains. Because such average assumptions never will be correct for an individual product, a large portion of the food we was because of bad dates are perfectly fine.”

Actual storage conditions

He added the technology provides a more accurate indication of quality and therefore expiration because it is based on the actual storage conditions each individual product is exposed to rather than a general estimate made at the processing plant.

“The idea is to dynamically indicate date of expiration according to the true time and temperature each product experience in its life span,” he said.

The company has produced a prototype of the device and e hopes to bring a finished product to market sometime in 2011. It is currently working with grocery chain NorgesGruppen, baked goods supplier Lantmännen Unibake, and McDonald’s Norway.

Source: Food Quality News & The Research Council of Norway

Prevent Pack : Dossier "Spécial matériaux" d’emballages

Excellent dossier de Prevent Pack sur les matériaux d’emballages. Très belles fiches didactiques. Bel effort de synthèse et de présentation.

Papier et carton : d’une matière première naturelle à un emballage flexible

Le verre : longue conservation des produits, facilité de recyclage

Plastique : une vaste gamme d’emballages légers

Acier et aluminium : des emballages robustes, faciles à recycler

Cartons à boissons : différentes couches, chacune sa fonction

Don't judge a cookie by its packaging

Six out of 10 candies, baked goods and breads at the grocery store overstated things such as "sugar free," "low in fat" or "100 per cent whole wheat" to convince shoppers to indulge in a treat or pay a premium, newly released government inspection test results show.

Read more…

Degradable Plastics: US demand to rise nearly 11% annually through 2014

According to a new study from The Freedonia Group, demand for degradable plastics in the US is projected to rise nearly eleven percent annually to 335 million pounds in 2014, valued at $390 million.

Although representing less than one-half of one percent of all thermoplastic resin demand in 2009, degradable plastics will exhibit substantial growth opportunities. Degradable plastic advances will be fostered by their increased cost competitiveness with petroleum-based materials as well as their sustainability and more benign environmental profile.

Degradable plastics demand is being broadened by enhanced performance properties brought about by more sophisticated polymerization and blending techniques. Testing and certification standards have also been established for many types of biodegradable plastics, with growing pressures to limit packaging waste and expand the composting infrastructure.

Polylactic acid to be fastest growing degradable plastic

Polylactic acid (PLA) will grow at the fastest pace through 2014, driven by a more competitive price structure and greater availability. Myriad opportunities are expected, particularly in fiber applications such as nonwovens. Starchbased plastics will have a good outlook as a result of improved resin blends and applications in such areas as compostable yard and kitchen bags, as well as foodservice items such as plates, bowls and cutlery. Demand for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) will more than double, driven by an increase in the availability of PHA plastics and products. Opportunities are expected in areas such as films and molded containers. Slower growth is expected for photodegradable films such as ring carriers due to a maturing beverage container segment and competition from shrink film and paperboard packaging.

Nonpackaging products to outpace packaging market

Packaging, which accounted for nearly three-quarters of all degradable plastic in 2009, will exhibit good growth through 2014 in film and molded containers. However, most rapid growth is expected for nonpackaging products, particularly textile fibers in areas such as nonwovens, bedding and apparel. Other degradable nonpackaging products include compost bags, foodservice disposables and agricultural mulch.