BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC MADE IN SOUTH TYROL

How would you react if we told you that we have found a way to manufacture plastic in a way which makes it biodegradable?

We bet you would be pretty surprised and impressed, probably stating that you don't think it is really possible.

Would you believe us if we told you that we have indeed found a way to make plastic biodegradable, and in the same time as wood?

Let's face it - a life without synthetic materials seems pretty impossible these days. Recycling has been a big issue for several decades now. At the same time, however, there have been serious efforts to find alternatives to recycling plastic by creating synthetic materials which are not only produced exclusively from renewable sources and raw materials, but are also biodegradable. Research and technology have made huge progress and have had great success in this respect.

We have made it our goal to implement these new findings and technologies in our enterprise and production, collaborating with a growing number of equally determined business partners.

TRUST US, WE CAN MAKE IT BIO

Making synthetic material from renewable sources and regrowing raw material doesn't automatically mean that it is also biodegradable. Many people still don't know enough about the important difference between "bio-based" and "biodegradable". In fact, the two terms are often confused.

In an article published in a specialist magazine called "Kunststoffe", the two terms were explained thus: "Bio-based" refers to the origin of the raw material used for the production and informs about whether renewable or fossil raw material was used. "Biodegradable", on the other hand, refers to the life cycle of the product and looks at how it will be disposed of in the end. It is important to understand that a bio-based product does not automatically have to be biodegradable, and that biodegradable products are not necessarily bio-based either. Bio-based products may have to be incinerated, whereas biodegradable products can end up in composting plants.

There is a surprisingly large number of plant-based raw materials which can be used for the production of biodegradable synthetic materials. Amylum is currently becoming an important raw material, together with sugar and cellulose. Amylum, or starch, is found in potatoes, sweet corn, wheat and rice. The protective skin of raw rice grains, which is separated from the grain through threshing, is used for producing a granulate which is added to certain synthetic materials used in the food industry. The addition of this granulate allows the synthetic material to decompose biologically.

Biodegradable plastic is going to play an increasingly more important role in the food industry in the future. Consumers are becoming more and more environmentally aware, caring no longer just about the contents of the products they buy, but also about the packaging. The production and the environmental sustainability of products and their wrappings will increasingly determine their success on the market.