The latest developments in safe and sustainable chemicals, new materials, fuels, and more.
TerraVia (formerly Solazyme) and agribusiness giant Bunge Limited have announced the launch of native, whole algae DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) as a sustainable specialty feed ingredient for the aquaculture market, a roughly $3 billion market for omega-3 ingredients. DHA is a long chain omega-3 fatty acid that is a critical element for humans and animals, including fish, for healthy growth and development.
Scientists in the United Kingdom are using spinach leaves and carrots to investigate selective formation of metallic nanoparticles in plastics. The researchers are working to form conductive circuits and create antimicrobial surfaces by accelerating the production of metals already embedded in treated plastic materials using chemicals from the plants. If successful, the practical applications include smart prosthetics, medical devices for hospitals, mobile phones, and other ‘smart’ surfaces.
In 2025, there is one ton of plastic for every three tons of fish in the oceans, and in 2050 the weight of plastic has overtaken that of fish. While the cause of this future scenario would largely be the work of plastic bottles and other types of packaging, part of the blame falls on our clothing. So denim giant G-Star and marine pollution campaign group the Plastic Soup Foundation (PSP) are joining forces to stop this process in its tracks with a battle against microfiber.
The ocean’s value has been estimated as high as $24 trillion, yet despite its inherent connections to the health and well-being of wildlife, humans, and the global economy, it continues to be overexploited and polluted. Scientists have estimated that a minimum of 5.25 trillion plastic particles are in the oceans, and some studies suggest that these contaminants can make their way all the way up the food chain.
Food packaging is one of the main generators of packaging waste in developed countries. In 2012, each person in the European Union (EU) countries generated an average of 156.8kg of packaging waste, and plastic containers accounted for 19 percent of it. In total, 15.1 million tons of plastic packaging waste was generated. Of course, many organizations are working on cutting back this waste, and new materials are under development, including biodegradable bioplastics made from renewable materials or even waste.
When it comes to in-home recycling habits, Unilever and Johnson & Johnson have found the same thing: Not all packaging is treated equally. Unilever reports that only 14 percent of Americans are recycling their bathroom bottles, while 56 percent of American households recycle kitchen items. Similarly, a recent consumer survey commissioned by Johnson & Johnson found that 34 percent of ‘regular recyclers’ admit that it never even occurred to them to recycle in the bathroom. Each company announced they would be reprising, and building upon, behavior change campaigns to encourage families to recycle, with an emphasis on bathroom product packaging.
As the Official Chemistry Company of the Olympic Games and the Official Carbon Partner of Rio 2016, The Dow Chemical Company has launched a new Microfoaming Technology for the packaging industry in Latin America. The project is part of a comprehensive Dow program focused on mitigating the carbon footprint of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
It’s the pinnacle of tax season here in the U.S. this week, and it’s easy to imagine coffee being in high demand at the Internal Revenue Service. So in the midst of their most grueling week of the year, a group of businesses and advocates are calling on the IRS to go one day without coffee — one of many crops that relies on pollination — to help drive home the potential implications of a future without pollinators.
In light of this year’s Flint, Michigan water crisis and massive methane leak in Porter Ranch, California, along with increasing awareness of manmade toxicities in our environment, consumers are looking for better tools to control their health and be better armed for knowing and controlling what goes into their bodies. Enter MyDx — aka “My Diagnostic” — a portable analyzer that acts like an electronic nose to measure and detect chemical molecules in vapor.
Following the success of grocery stores such as in.gredients in Austin, TX, and day by day in locations across France, other shops focused on eliminating packaging waste from their shelves have been popping up around the world. Opening this year: new locations in Copenhagen, Vancouver, and Brooklyn.
As Levi’s VP of Social and Environmental Sustainability, Michael Kobori, said last year in a blog post, along with a long-standing partnership with Goodwill to divert clothing from landfill and take-back programs for apparel for recycling into everything from building insulation to cushioning material, Levi Strauss’ circular economy ambitions include establishing an infrastructure that support
A report released today by six non-profit organizations found that 67 percent of nearly 200 tested food can linings contained Bisphenol A (BPA). The report also identified the replacement materials and to what extent their safety has been studied. Ahead of the report’s release, both Campbell Soup Co. and Del Monte Foods announced plans to switch to BPA-free packaging.
Diamonds may be forever, but they soon could change the way we power electronics by cutting e-waste, conserving water and fighting climate change. Today, semiconductors usually are made of silicon, which, when disposed of as e-waste, poisons children, pollutes water and releases substances like lead and methane into the jetstream.
As a packaging designer and nature lover, I dream of the day when material science and manufacturing can deliver on the promise of zero environmental impact, high performance, premium finish and low costs. Many breakthroughs have begun to deliver on the promise - PaperFoam, recycled PET (rPET), and polylactic acid (PLA), to name a few. But many of these materials still cannot compete on performance, and especially not on price. On the opposite end of the spectrum, commodity materials markets have been flooded with new eastern manufacturers, increasing the global supply and significantly lowering commodity materials costs. Add to that the light-weighting movement in plastics bottling and single-stream recycling.
It takes just 30 minutes – using only a bucket, a spoon, a cloth and a four-gram Procter & Gamble sachet – to purify 10 litres of dirty, contaminated water. Rose M lives in a semi-urban area in Kisumu County in Western Kenya with her husband and two teenage children. She and her husband, Sam, are HIV-positive, so they are particularly susceptible to waterborne diseases. Her entire family would often get sick from drinking the polluted water from a nearby river, which is contaminated by the local wildlife.
Products that can be positioned as ‘natural,’ ‘organic,’ and/or ‘free from additives/preservatives,’ are part of a movement that is here to stay, according to global ingredients solutions company Ingredion. Research commissioned by the company reveals that European customers are paying more attention to food packaging and ingredients, with a preference for clean label positioning – a short, simple ingredient list that features minimally processed ingredients. “Our research tells us that consumers are actively looking for products with clean label claims,” said Mona Schmitz-Hübsch, European Marketing Manager at Ingredion.
Organic food brand Happy Family is the first national brand to offer fully transparent baby food pouches. Happy Family's new Clearly Crafted™ product line showcases “goodness you can see” with clear plastic packaging, recipes listed directly on the pouches (not just the ingredients list), and the USDA-Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified logos.
As the old African proverb famously asserts: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Chemical giant BASF has taken this to heart, as evidenced by its collaborative approach to sustainability innovation. We spoke with Peter Gräve, director of Communications and Advocacy at BASF Española, to learn more about the many ways the global company is engaging and collaborating to fulfill its commitment to “create chemistry for a sustainable future.”
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) praised Proctor & Gamble (P&G) this week after the family, personal care and household products company expanded its chemical disclosure. P&G has listed the ingredients it uses in its fragrances and scents on its website since 2012, but a list of over 140 fragrance chemicals that it excludes from its products was added on Monday.
Rather than creating more waste, two new plastic solutions are speaking to the eco-conscious: Gumdrop Ltd. is using chewing gum in a novel, closed-loop recycling solution, while a new container was designed for improved reusability and recyclability.