Miscellaneous

RecyClass, a cross-industry plastic recycling initiative, has published its Recyclability Evaluation Protocol for PP (polypropylene) in guidance for carrying out laboratory analysis of the various design features of rigid packaging made from PP resin. The organisation explained that the ultimate objective is to establish the level of compatibility of a given product with the PP recycling stream.

“This new resin is helping to make a circular economy for plastics a reality, all without compromising on the performance that brand owners and consumers require,” said Bambang Candra, Asia Pacific commercial vice president, Dow. “As a material science company, we have the responsibility to bring these products to market to prevent plastics from becoming waste in the environment.” The growing demand for e-commerce will require durable, efficient packaging that can protect products throughout their supply chains while producing minimal waste for consumers.

Funded by IVACE and co-funded by the European Union (ERDF) through the Spanish Autonomous Community of Valencia ERDF operational programme (2014-2020), the ENZPLAST project focused in its first year on new methods for the synthesis of plastics that are safer for human health and more environmentally friendly. In particular, enzymes were used instead of metal catalysts to obtain polyesters. This provided two benefits: reducing the toxicity of these metal catalysts and lowering energy consumption during the polymerization process.

Walmart has been working with individual suppliers to reduce plastic in produce departments as consumer interest in sustainability increases.

The EU’s Single Use Plastics Directive prohibits the placing on the market of single-use plastic products made from oxodegradable plastic, and the coalition is calling on the UK to maintain this regulation as it leaves the EU. The letter cites evidence from Defra and the EU refuting the claim that oxodegradable additives can transform polyolefin plastics into biodegradable plastics, as they merely accelerate the fragmentation of plastics into microplastics.