Developing the first naturally biodegradable plastic for thermoforming applications

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Plastic waste is a global crisis. Despite increasing awareness about the scale of the challenge and changing consumer behaviours in recent years, plastic packaging is still insufficiently recycled. Of the 141Mn tonnes produced globally each year, around 1/3rd leaks from collection systems, polluting the environment. In the UK, there are still significant barriers to the recycling of plastic packaging including food contamination, multi-materials, small formats, poor quality recyclables and a lack of secondary markets with just 10% currently recycled (Greenpeace, 2021). In short, recycling (alone) is not the solution.There is a growing movement towards biodegradable and fully compostable alternatives to combat this issue, supported by targets set by the UK's Plastic Pact. Compostable plastic packaging is now becoming increasing prevalent with success stories including biodegradable plastic films and more recently, biodegradable plastics suitable for injection moulding and thermoforming to produce rigid packaging applications. However, solutions are limited in terms of performance, cost and the limited availability of industrial composting facilities worldwide.Noroqest are pioneering a new class of naturally-biodegradable plastics, with proprietary 100% plant-based biomaterials derived from sustainable feedstocks. Its patented solution for injection moulded applications, including commercially-available Nespresso-compatible coffee pods, has been proven to fully degrade in garden compost within 3-4 months, leaving no contamination behind.Noroqest's goal is to meet increasing customer demand for naturally-biodegradable solutions compatible with more cost-effective thermoforming/extrusion techniques used to produce single-use food packaging applications (meat trays, sandwich packs, cup lids). The project focuses on developing a novel biopolymer formulation with optimised properties/characteristics compatible with existing commercial-scale extrusion equipment and current standards for industrial and home compostability (i.e., EN13432) and food safety.Noroqest will exploit outcomes through an existing customer base, with established UK production facilities and supply-chain to create immediate impact post-project, with market entry by 2024 following commercial scale-up and trials.