Ingeo News: December 2021

Unilever’s Tea Business, Ekaterra, Talks Compostable and Biobased Tea Bags at COP26

Ekaterra announced they have already achieved 42 billion compostable tea bags made with Ingeo. By the end of 2023 or early 2024, they expect 60 billion to be compostable.

At this year’s COP26 Conference, Unilever’s Tea Business, ekaterra, livestreamed their presentation, “Plant Powered to Become Climate Positive”, which discussed how the best of science and nature can inspire innovations for the planet by utilizing the power of plants. The work NatureWorks conducted with Unilever and other partners, Glatfelter and Trevira, for the production of 100% plant-based and compostable tea bags for use by brands like PG Tips and Lipton, is highlighted in the presentation. Ekaterra announced they have already achieved production of 42 billion compostable tea bags made with Ingeo and by early 2024, they expect 60 billion to be compostable. Watch the full video.



Bioplastics Market Predicted to Grow at Unprecedented Rates

NatureWorks expects the bioplastics market to continue growing at “unprecedented rates,” says Mariagiovanna Vetere, global public affairs director, despite lacking differentiation in anti-plastic legislation.

“Fossil-based plastics have a 60-year head start on optimization for packaging and other applications versus bioplastics, so it’s fun to see the biopolymers industry develop to match performance attributes so quickly,” she highlights.

At the European Bioplastics Conference, Vetere will be moderating the session Bioplastics in Packaging, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for bioplastics in packaging over the next few years.

Ahead of the conference in Berlin, Germany, from November 30 to December 1, Packaging Insights speaks with Vetere about safety issues, legislative hurdles and new packaging applications. Read the article.



Successfully Collecting Food Waste for Over 1.4M Inhabitants: The Story of Milan

Across the European Union, proper collection and recycling of bio-waste largely remains an untapped potential, with only 16% of the theoretical quantity being collected. The rest is incinerated or landfilled, therefore contributing to climate change via carbon or methane emissions. However, if properly collected and treated, it could positively contribute to benefit the environment through the creation and use of compost, as well as by reducing greenhouses gas emissions.

In 2011, the city of Milan - a population of 1.4 million - made the decision to upgrade its waste management strategy by adopting a comprehensive approach to separately collect food waste.

Ten years later, after the first implementation phase starting in 2012, the city is one of the world’s leading examples regarding food waste collection, with 95 kilograms of food waste collected per inhabitant and an overall 62.6% waste collection rate, resulting in savings of approximately 9000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Read the Case Study.



GreenScreen Certified: PFAS-free and Preferred Food Serviceware

On November 9th, NatureWorks’ Nicole Whiteman joined a panel by the Center for Environmental Health and Clean Production Action called “GreenScreen Certified: PFAS-free and Preferred Food Service Ware”. Whiteman spoke about being GreenScreen Certified, new safety standards for PFAS and other harmful chemicals, and the importance of being 3rd party certified to ensure safety and sustainability claims are credible. “At this point,” says Whiteman, “fundamental expectations for food serviceware materials aren’t enough.” Watch the webinar.

MARKET UPDATES

3D Printing

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and UMaine Researchers Receive Award for Ingeo-based Composite

Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Maine received a prestigious Award for Composites Excellence for research conducted in 3D printing a sustainable biocomposite foam for use in lightweight structural applications. The award, presented to the ORNL and UMaine team by the American Composites Manufacturers Association, recognizes outstanding achievement in innovation in green composites design. Read more.


Deloitte Ranks good natured Among Fastest Growing Clean Technologies in North America

Deloitte’s Clean Technology award has been awarded to good natured® and they were also named to Deloitte’s 2021 North American Technology Fast 500.
Paul Antoniadis, CEO of good natured commented, “It’s a great honour to receive two prestigious awards from Deloitte in recognition of our hard work and focus on delivering on our strategy. I’m especially proud of our team members who get up every day to work tirelessly toward our goal of becoming North America’s leading earth friendly product company.” Read more.



NATUREWORKS & INDUSTRY NEWS

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sustainability in Packaging | March 9 - 11, 2022 | Chicago, IL & Online
Look for NatureWorks’ Shannon Pinc to present, "Beyond PFAS - Chemicals of Concern are Everyone's Concern" on DAY 2 of this event.

bio!PAC | March 15 - 16, 2022 | Dusseldorf, Germany
NatureWorks' Erwin Vink will present, "A review of JRC’s report: LCA of alternative feedstocks for plastics production."

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Human Resources Manager | Plymouth, MN
The Human Resources (HR) Manager will be responsible for identifying the people we need, engaging the people we have and building a culture that defines and differentiates us. This “hands-on” role works collaboratively with business leaders to develop and execute HR strategies that align and facilitate the successful execution of the organization’s strategy. The incumbent provides consultation and subject matter expertise to team members and leadership in all areas of HR programming and acts as a trusted advisor to leaders and assists them with achieving operational and team objectives. Responsible for leading the development and implementation of HR projects, processes, policies, and procedures that support the vision and values of the organization.

Production Manager, Plant Operations | Bangkok, Thailand
The Production Manager is responsible for the operations management related production and to day to day staffing of a production facility in Nakhonsawan, Thailand. This role is accountable for all aspects of plant performance and will ensure that objectives are attained in a safe, ethical and cost-effective manner consistent with quality requirements and standards. This position reports directly to the Thailand Site Leader and supervises the production technicians and plant engineers while working with reliability, automation, and maintenance to enhance the operations of the manufacturing facility.

Keep up with ALL of our available job opportunities on our Careers page.