Begg launches additive to make plastics biodegradable

Tess Raine, packagingnews.co.uk, 25 June 2007

 

Begg and Co Thermoplastics in Kent is marketing a masterbatch that can be added to any plastic material to make it biodegrade.

 

Begg and Co sales executive David Watmore said Bio-Batch was a protein-based additive that worked by allowing bacteria to attack the polymer structure and break it down.

 

He said 1% of Bio-Batch would make common packaging plastics including PP, PE and PET - in formats like films, caps, trays and bottles - 100% degradable within one to five years if it came in contact with high levels of bacteria commonly found in landfill sites or composting facilities.

 

Producers of refuse sacks and disposable nappies have expressed interest in the additive.

 

Bio-Batch has been marketed in the US for the last two years and is used in ready-meal trays and disposable knives and forks, according to Watmore.