Quand les sacs oxo-biodégradables menacent le recyclage

Dans un récent article publié dans le Journal La Tribune (Sherbrooke), on apprend que certains centres de tri songent à ne plus recycler de sac de plastique…à cause des sacs oxo-biodégradables.

Pour ce qui est des sacs oxo-biodégradables, on en retrouve encore en grand nombre au centre de tri, tant et si bien qu'on songe maintenant à ne plus recycler aucun sac de plastique. «C'est dommage parce que c'est une ressource qui se recyclait très bien. Les sacs oxo-biodégradables sont venus contaminer la matière et il devient difficile de trouver une clientèle», a statué M. Béliveau.

Vous pouvez consulter ici le dossier sur les plastiques oxo-biodégradables--

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Packaging of the Week: Silver Hills Bakery’s new visual identity

Silver Hills has got a brand new bag

The re-branded packaging has a distinct shelf presence that beckons to be picked up and examined. Using solid, matte colours, which are unusual for the category, the colourful, biodegradable bags include witty illustrations by Robert Hanson. The lighthearted illustrations evoke the new names visually and cleverly incorporate captivating bread windows to display the product.

Source

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RFID News: Economy and Sustainability

How green is RFID?

In these days of environmental consciousness, what are RFID's green credentials? Is RFID a net positive or negative contributor to the campaign to help the planet?

Notwithstanding the list of possible negative effects above, when you look at the work being done by RFID solutions to help the environment, IDTechEx believes the balance is strongly in favour. Yes, RFID tags can be eco-unfriendy in some limited circumstances, but technology is helping to build a greener world, by:

• Reducing vehicle emissions
• Monitoring the health of wildlife
• Protecting indigenous fauna
• Encouraging container reuse
• Conserving energy use in buildings
• Improving waste disposal
• Encouraging recycling
• Protecting the sea floor

Importantly, most examples also have an economic benefit, which will encourage further deployment.

HIDE-Pack: An Innovative and Sustainable Approach to RFID-Enabled Packaging

It consists in embedding an RFID inlay within the structure of a package, so that the inlay is not visible from the inside or the outside of the package. Effectively, the RFID inlay becomes an integral part of the packaging medium. The HIDE-Pack process results in significant capital and labor saving for all users of packaging from consumer goods to perishable commodities.

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Microwaveable packaging growing in popularity

According to the Allied Development study, which reviewed food from October to April, the U.S. microwaveable packaging market was estimated at $400 million in 2003 and is forecast to reach $1.7 billion by 2013, an annual growth rate of 16%. Current economic conditions have slowed organic growth, according to the study, but the expansion of applications and use of new technology continues unabated.

Read more...

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Childhope : Amazing use of donation cans

Source

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Mirel resins meet all Vinçotte biodegradability standards for soil, water, and compost

Metabolix, Inc. announced that Mirel™ bioplastic resins have received the Vinçotte certification of “OK Compost” for compostability in an industrial composting unit and “OK Compost HOME” for compostability in home composting systems. Belgium-based Vinçotte is widely recognized in Europe for materials inspection, certification, assessments and technical training.

Mirel bioplastic resins received OK Biodegradable Soil and OK Biodegradable Water certifications announced in October of 2008. Mirel bioplastic resins are the only non-starch bioplastics to gain all four Vinçotte certifications.

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The OK Compost mark verifies that Mirel bioplastic resins will biodegrade under industrial composting conditions. All products certified with the OK Compost mark meet the EU packaging Directive as well as the EN 13432: 2000 standard. The OK Compost HOME mark confirms that Mirel bioplastic resins will biodegrade in home composting systems of varying temperatures.

“Today’s environmentally conscious consumers and brand owners are seeking out eco-friendly products, and certification from Vinçotte confirms Mirel resins meet accepted standards for biodegradability and compostability,” said Bob Findlen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Telles. “Unlike most bioplastics, Mirel resins are engineered to meet these standards and provide brand owners with a uniquely biodegradable material for use in their products.”

“With organic material making up about half of all household waste, it is important for manufacturers to produce durable products that can be responsively disposed of via composting, along with food scraps and other organic waste,” said Petra Michiels, Contract Manager OK Compost of Vinçotte. “Composting decreases the amount of organic material and turns it into a valuable product that improves soil characteristics.”

Press Release

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Nanotechnologies: Les eurodéputés appellent à plus de prudence

Les eurodéputés déplorent l’absence d’évaluation spécifique aux nanoparticules dans l’Union européenne. Selon eux, elles présentent des risques potentiels nouveaux tout à fait significatifs, du fait de leur taille, comme par exemple une réactivité et une mobilité accrues, conduisant éventuellement à une plus grande toxicité, le tout associé avec une pénétration plus facile dans le corps humain, impliquant des mécanismes nouveaux d’interférences avec la physiologie humaine et des autres espèces vivantes.
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Le Parlement demande donc à ce que les consommateurs soient informés sur l’utilisation des nanoparticules dans les produits de consommation : toutes les substances, mélanges ou articles présents sous forme de nanoparticules devraient ainsi être clairement identifiés sur l’étiquetage (par exemple en indiquant la mention nano entre parenthèses dans la liste des ingrédients à côté des substances concernées, comme ce sera bientôt obligatoire pour les cosmétiques).

Lire la suite…

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La sécurité alimentaire et la lutte contre la contrefaçon : les nano-emballages intelligents « imprimés » à la rescousse ?

Islem A. Yezza, Chargé de Projets emballages intelligents et écologiques à l’Institut des Communications Graphiques du Québec a donné une présentation intitulée : “Printed Intelligence in Packaging: Current and Potential Applications of Nanotechnology” dans le cadre du 2009 TAPPI Flexible Packaging Summit, à Columbus (Ohio, USA).

Cliquez ici pour télécharger la présentation

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Perfluorinated chemicals used in food packaging detected in humans for first time

Researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada have been able for the first time to detect the perfluorinated chemicals polyfluoroalkyl phosphoric acid diesters (diPAPs), which are used in food packaging, in pooled blood samples taken from more than 200 people in mid-western USA in 2004, 2005 and 2008. The levels found are reported to have been at low part-per-billion concentrations.

They also found diPAPs at 100 times those concentrations in sewage sludge samples collected from wastewater treatment plants in Ontario, Canada, they report in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Their findings are significant because they provide a traceable route for diPAPs which could lead to ways to reduce exposure. Until now, scientists have found widespread contamination of human blood with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) in humans but these are breakdown products from a large number of potential sources making it difficult to suggest ways to reduce exposure.

Source

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Printed Intelligence in Packaging: Current and Potential Applications of Nanotechnology

Back from Columbus. Very interesting Symposium on Nanomaterials for Flexible Packaging. Here is my speech :

Printed Intelligence in Packaging

Take home…Think outside the box

Demands on packaging are continually changing: increases in functionality, improvements in economics and meeting environmental and legislative measures.

• Nano-printed intelligent packaging is the results of “Thinking Outside the Box”.
• Nano printed intelligence has potential to influence the packaging sector greatly, as it fits perfectly with the food safety strategy and brand protection

Take home…Nano-Printed Intelligence

• Printing technologies enable cost-effective, mass production of smart labels integrated in flexible packaging
• Much of the technology is still confined to the lab
• Consumer acceptance of the use of printed nano-materials in packaging is very important and will be greatly dependent on the demonstrated benefits and safety of the new packaging products

Think Big…Think Nano!!!

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