Innovating Plastics

The noracare rubber floors by nora® by Interface have been awarded the prestigious gold Cradle to Cradle Certified® certification by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, making them the first in the world to receive this recognition. This leading institute for product assessments is dedicated to promoting and developing a circular economy through its certification process. Out of the 45 colors available in the noracare seneo and noracare uneo product range, 25 have achieved the gold certification due to their high recyclability. As a global leader in rubber flooring, nora® by Interface contributes to sustainable eco-efficiency in the flooring industry with its products. https://lnkd.in/efXhWkgW

CARBIOS, a pioneer in the development and industrialization of biological technologies to reinvent the life cycle of plastic and textiles, and De Smet Engineers & Contractors (DSEC), a world-class provider of Engineering, Procurement and Construction services in the biotech’s and agro-processing industries, jointly announce their collaboration to spearhead the construction of the world’s first PET biorecycling plant. Under the agreement, De Smet has been entrusted with the project management and detailed engineering, including procurement assistance and CARBIOS partners’ management, to ensure the execution of the plant’s construction in Longlaville, France, due for commissioning in 2025. CARBIOS’ first commercial facility will play a key role in the fight against plastic pollution by offering an industrial-scale solution for the enzymatic depolymerization of PET waste to accelerate a circular economy for plastic and textiles. https://lnkd.in/e92rRb8W

All of ELIX Polymers SL’s Circular Economy activities come under the E-LOOP brand name, with two strategic programmes from ELIX Sustainable Portfolio Solutions: Circular Plastics and Responsible Innovation. E-LOOP CR products are manufactured with sustainable and certified raw materials that incorporate circular and bio-based feedstocks. These products are certified according to ISCC and the mass balance model is used to ensure traceability and transparency throughout the supply chain. Different combinations of feedstocks are possible as there are different sources for the 3 main monomers: fossil fuel-based feedstocks, chemically recycled post-consumer waste and bio-based feedstocks. https://lnkd.in/eZmn-QHR

Leading North American recycler, Rumpke Waste & Recycling (Rumpke) and molecular recycling pioneer Eastman, today announced a groundbreaking partnership to help address the global plastic waste crisis. Later this year, Rumpke will begin collecting and sorting hard-to-recycle and colored PET packaging waste, materials that are largely unaddressed in today’s recycling ecosystem and will provide 100 percent of this waste stream as feedstock to Eastman’s molecular recycling process. Eastman will then turn this waste stream into virgin quality polyesters with its molecular recycling technology to be used across a range of packaging applications and to expand the circular economy for polyesters. https://lnkd.in/esVR5_XU

Although efforts to improve the collection and recycling of plastics to achieve a circular economy are increasing significantly, some (synthetic) materials will eventually always end up in the environment due to e.g. littering, weathering and abrasion. In the project ULTRADREAM (funded by TKI-AF), which started in the summer of 2023, Wageningen University & Research is supporting the development of the circular economy by using agricultural side streams and residues for developing novel modified bio-based, renewable polymers, with inherent biodegradation capabilities at their end-of-life. https://lnkd.in/ecNmdPT6 #plastics #renewable #biobased #recycling #circular

kp (Klöckner Pentaplast), global leader in rigid and flexible packaging and specialty film solutions, is proud of the success of its recycled coastal plastics initiative. Partnering with the Keep Sea Blue organisation, kp plays its part in closing the loop on plastic waste through the use of Recycled Coastal Plastics®, a certified post-consumer recycled raw material recovered from within 10 km of the coastline in the Mediterranean basin. In 2023, kp used more than 800 tonnes of recycled PET waste collected through this initiative to create new packaging. It is the equivalent of reusing 14 million PET bottles and underlines kp’s aim of promoting environmental stewardship and sustainably designed packaging solutions. Hendrik Jan Bartels, Marketing Director, Rigids, at kp, remarks on this achievement, saying: “We are delighted to work with Keep Sea Blue in the quest for a more robust circular economy in plastics. Our seas and oceans are extremely vulnerable, and plastic waste should never end up in marine environments. That’s why we’re so proud of our achievement, putting bottles and trays back into our packaging materials that could have otherwise ended up in the sea or in the coastal environment. https://lnkd.in/eUTgTK_d #plastics #packaging #waste #recycled

The API Group and its subsidiary Accredo Packaging, Inc., a manufacturer of more sustainable packaging solutions in the food and consumer products markets, collaborates with the Fresh-Lock team at Presto Products, a business of Reynolds Consumer Products, to introduce a first-of-its-kind flexible stand-up pouch utilizing more than 50% Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) content fit for food packaging throughout the package. Coupling Fresh-Lock’s Child-Guard® slider technology and the AccredoFlex range of recycled content films results in an unmatched percentage of recycled content in both the film and the zipper closure, pushing the limits of what’s possible in food packaging with recycled content. The collaboration offers a child-resistant track that contains at least 25% PCR material while maintaining dependable protection and a recyclable child-safe closure. “Collaboration is crucial in driving the circular economy forward, so we are thrilled to join forces with the Fresh-Lock team at Presto to introduce this flexible stand-up pouch,” says ♻️Jonathan Quinn♻️, Vice President of Marketing and Sustainability at API Group and Accredo Packaging. “The future of the circular economy hinges on incorporating recycled content and being able to do so across all consumer packaged goods markets.” https://lnkd.in/edDrXsQR #plastics #packaging #pouch #PCR #circularity

NPSP , in collaboration with Studio Marco Vermeulen, has developed a biobased nature-inclusive façade for the Innovation Pavilion at Marineterrein Amsterdam. The collaboration was completed by Sustainer, who developed the wooden construction system, and Uitvindersgilde, who realized the project. The biocomposite exterior façade has a distinctive shape with nesting boxes for birds and insects integrated into it. NPSP and Studio Marco Vermeulen plan to apply these nature-inclusive, form-free facade elements on a large scale. It can be assumed that current building materials contribute significantly to CO2 emissions and resource depletion. Biobased building materials are more sustainable to produce compared to many other materials such as aluminium, plastics, and concrete. During the cultivation of the crops used in biobased materials, CO2 is actually removed from the atmosphere and stored as carbon. https://lnkd.in/eReyx-id #biobased #biocomposite #architecture #materials

As we transition into the new year, let’s reflect on the news of the previous year, particularly in the realm of innovation and sustainability concerning plastics. What significant developments unfolded in 2023, and what lessons can we derive from them? Let’s take a look at the key takeaways from 2023. https://lnkd.in/eZ83q2Eh #innovation #sustainability #plastics

LyondellBasell and Pigeon Corporation. – a market leader producing high quality mother and baby care products for Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa and Oceania regions – announced today their collaboration on advancing the sustainable research and development efforts in baby nursing bottles. The renewed series of the Pigeon nursing bottles will use the LyondellBasell bio-based CirculenRenew polypropylene polymers, as part of Pigeon’s transitioning away from using 100% virgin polypropylene resins. https://lnkd.in/dXPkvgA9 #recycling #plastics #renew