Ingeo News: Vol 15, Iss 2

February 2020

Dutch Study Shows PLA Bioplastics Disintegrate Faster Than Orange Peels, Paper

A new study from Wageningen Food & Biobased Research on how compostable plastics behave in the Dutch waste system treatment of GFT (i.e. source separated municipal biowaste) show how compostable products made with PLA disintegrated faster than orange peels or paper, and could not be recovered even after one composting cycle of 11 days. The study draws the conclusion that compostable products can be processed well together with GFT. No compostable plastics were found in the final compost. However, conventional (non-compostable) plastics were still found. Read the study.



Letter From MPs and Academics in Favor of Compostable Packaging

MPs and academics in the UK submitted a letter of support for compostable packaging solutions in creation of a true circular economy. Film and flexible packaging makes up around 400,000 tonnes of plastic used in the UK per year and comprises 25% of all plastic packaging. In the letter, they note compostable packaging would be a smart solution for the plastic problem as they work toward integrating a circular economy and meeting commitments on plastic packaging. Read the letter.




Study Confirms the Value and Compatibility of Compostable Coffee Pods with Commercial Infrastructure

York University in Toronto notes how compostable coffee pods are being composted and can be composted within the current commercial composting infrastructure in North America. Improvements in both the design and technology to manage compostable materials has made composting plant-based plastics like Ingeo-based coffee capsules easier than ever before. Read the article. 



Upcoming Event Sponsorships

NatureWorks is the proud Sustainability Partner of the upcoming Fastenal Parallel 45 Winter Festival and MN World Cup 2020. This historical event is coming to Minnesota March 14-17, 2020 and will be the first time in two decades that the world's best have competed on American snow. We are proud to contribute to the festival's zero waste efforts. Food waste has a measurable impact on climate change where warming negatively impacts winter sports like cross country skiing. In using Ingeo™ compostable food serviceware, more food waste can be recovered for composting, reducing both greenhouse gases and waste sent to landfill. Read more about Sustainability at the World Cup here.

PARTNER UPDATES

3D PRINTING

Sarolea's N60 superbike, prototyped using Polymaker materials.
Belgian-based electric superbike manufacturer, Sarolea, has joined forces with Polymaker under a technical partnership. Currently, Sarolea uses a wide range of Polymaker 3D printing materials during the design process to check components and assemblies. They also use 3D printing as rapid tooling to create molds for carbon fiber components. And certain parts on the racing and production bikes are 3D printed, such as the composite panel on the N60 superbike. Read more.


Food Serviceware

Vegware's Close the Loop Success in Scotland
So inspiring to see that Vegware's Scottish Close the Loop composting collection service composted 188 tonnes of used Vegware and food waste in 2019. That's the equivalent weight of over 10.8 million of their 12oz. coffee cups and in under 12 weeks, they turn into nutrient-rich compost. Nice work! Read the article.


NATUREWORKS & INDUSTRY NEWS

RECENT EVENTS

Packaging Speaks Green | February 20 - 21 | Bologna

NatureWorks' Global Public Affairs Director, Mariagiovanna Vetere spoke on two panels at the Packaging Speaks Green conference in Bologna. She spoke on behalf of Ameripen on US regulatory affairs on the Regulatory Framework panel and she also joined the Renewable Materials panel discussing the future of sustainable packaging.


Construct3D | February 13 - 16 | Houston

NatureWorks' Business Development Leader, Dan Sawyer, attended this year's Construct3D, an academic 3D printing and digital fabrication conference in Houston, TX and presented on sustainability in 3D printing for all the K-12 educators, college and university faculty, makers, fabricators, and innovators in attendance.

UPCOMING EVENTS

AMI Single-Serve Capsules
March 3 - 4 | Austin, TX
Wednesday March 4th, NatureWorks' David Stanton, will present, "Can capsules really be environmentally friendly AND still deliver that perfect coffee experience? How it's made: The North American example"

SPC Impact
March 31 - April 2 | Austin, TX
NatureWorks' Brian Glasbrenner to speak on "Completing the Package - Inks, Adhesives, and Coatings" panel and Nicole Whiteman to speak on "Finding Common Ground in Paper & Plastic" panel.

Rapid + TCT
April 20 - 23 | Anaheim, CA
NatureWorks will be exhibiting at Hall C, Booth #425



We're Growing!

Join a fast-growing, ever-evolving team of professionals. Join NatureWorks!

Available Job Opportunities:

Cost Accountant | Blair, NE & Minnetonka, MN
Responsible for creating periodic financial reports and maintaining and developing processes and controls in the areas of inventory, costing/manufacturing, freight, and work order accounting. Candidate will be responsible for developing annual cost standards by seeking input from cross functional teams. Once standards are developed, this role will be responsible for understanding and reporting variances to the developed standards on a monthly and adhoc basis. 
 
Accounts Payable Coordinator | Minnetonka, MN
Responsible for processing payments, reconciling accounts and ensuring administrative accounting requests are in compliance with corporate policy and procedures. This position will provide optimal customer service while focusing on processing efficiencies and supporting a team environment. The Accounts Payable Coordinator will play an active role on the Finance team.

SAP Functional Analyst | Minnetonka, MN
Responsible for the design, adoption, and optimized execution of the SAP enterprise resource planning across NatureWorks’ current global business. This individual will work collaboratively across all departments of the organization to help bridge the gap between users and SAP, improve the management of existing business processes and focus on entire management of the SAP system from beginning to end, introducing systematic controls and procedures that impact efficiencies, enhance profitability, and assist the organization in meeting its business objectives.