NEWS
New developments in the Plastics industry
PepsiCo signs deal for 100% recycled plastic packaging Veolia and Unilever rinks giant PepsiCo has signed a new partnerchairman and chief scientific officer at PepsiCo. to collaborate on DIndustries ship with US sustainable plastic firm Loop “This partnership represents a step-change that to roll out product packaging made with will empower PepsiCo in our drive towards creatsustainable packaging
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eolia and Unilever have signed a collaboration agreement to work together on emerging technologies that will help create a circular economy on plastics across various regions of the world, starting in India and Indonesia. The companies have acknowledged that the issue of plastic waste is a shared responsibility that requires bold action across the value chain to develop and scale up collection and reprocessing infrastructure, which is critical in the transition towards a circular economy. The work will focus on material collection, which will help channel recycled content back into the value chain. Veolia will work with Unilever to implement used packaging collection solutions, add recycling capacity and develop new processes and business models through this partnership in various countries. Laurent Auguste, senior executive vice-president of Veolia for Development, Innovation and Markets, commented: “With this global partnership, Veolia and Unilever join forces in various geographies around the globe and, from the collection to the recycling, take a leadership role to redefine a responsible and sustainable future for packaging.” Visit: www.veolia.com
Novamont boosts compostable bioplastic production in Rome
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ovamont, an Italian bioplastics firm which produces fully compostable products, has opened a revamped Mater-Biopolymer plant south of Rome, boosting production capacity from 120,000 tonnes per year to 150,000. The new facility will increase Novamont’s production of ORIGO–BI®, biopoly-
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100 per cent recycled plastic by early 2020. The ‘multi-year’ supply agreement, announced late last week, will see Loop supply PepsiCo with production capacity at its factory in the US, which produces PET plastic using 100 per cent recycled materials. Loop’s technology recycles low value plastics, including ocean plastics, back into virgin grade polymer, used to produce plastic bottles and other food-grade packaging. “Loop’s technology enables PepsiCo to be a leading force in ensuring plastic packaging need never become waste,” said Mehmood Khan, vice-
ing a circular economy for plastics.” As well as boosting PepsiCo’s use of recycled plastics, the deal will also include a marketing and communications push to raise consumer awareness of recycling and the circular economy. Visit: www.pepsico.com
VTT and Carbodeon enable faster 3D printing with nanodiamonds V TT and Carbodeon Ltd Oy have developed a plastic material suitable for consumer and industrial use, enabling faster 3D printing and improving the mechanical durability of the printouts. The uDiamond® filament, patented by Carbodeon and now available on the market, improves the usability of 3D technology and broadens the applications of 3D printing. The excellent performance of the new 3D filament is based on the nanodiamond particles it contains and their ability to shape the structure and properties of the material. The material’s spherical nanodiamonds work like a lubricant and do not increase the clogging of the printer nozzle. Nanodiamonds, for example, improve the thermal conductivity of the plastic material, which helps increase 3D printing speed. In Carbodeon’s tests, the printing speed could be increased up to 500 mm/s. In addition, the mechanical properties of the esters with a high level of renewables, and components of MATER-BI® compostable bioplastics, used to manufacture various applications as an alternative to traditional plastics, including coffee cups and pods, carrier bags, cutlery, straws and food packaging. The overall investment amounts to €70 million, rising to €100 million within the next three years.
material were improved. Nanodiamond-reinforced PLA plastic is also easy to print with consumergrade printers. “Using our chemical pilot devices, we at VTT produced the nanodispersed material required for the melt processing, and thus supported the creation of a new product,” says Jarmo Ropponen, Research Team Leader at VTT’s chemical pilots. Visit: www.vtt.fi
The company also recently secured a deal with the UK’s Co-op retailer to supply bio-based and compostable carrier bags for shoppers at its stores. The increased production of the Patrica site will help the company meet the demand from contracts for compostable plastic bags to retailers throughout Europe. Visit: www.novamont.com
