July 2022

Inspired by battlefield medicine, scientists have developed an antimicrobial food wrap that reduces food waste and foodborne illness.

Human saliva may contain an enzyme which can decompose the plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Researchers found the promising enzyme, a hydrolase, in a database containing human metagenome samples. As they report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, this newly discovered hydrolase performs bette…

Heading into June, the pricing trajectory for volume commodity resins was once again mixed. While prices of PE, PP, PVC, and ABS were trending downward, prices of PS, PET, PC and nylons 6 and 66 were moving in the opposite direction. Key factors contributing to the downward movement included an apparent slowing of demand, higher supplier inventories, and lower feedstock prices.

Phys.org

A team of researchers led by Hongyang Liu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Metal Research, has developed a method of ethylbenzene dehydrogenation under oxygen-free conditions with fully exposed platinum (Pt) cluster catalysts that result in the positive traits of high activity, selectivity and stability, as well as lower energy and financial costs.

The European Green Deal requires all packaging to be reusable or recyclable by 2030. The regulation is perceived as particularly challenging for multilayer packaging, since its layers first need to be separated before entering recycling streams. Collaboration throughout the value chain is required for circularity.

Just like our cars, injection moulding machines undergo heavy use, leading to wear and tear. In this video, Hymid explains how purging the barrel will ensure part quality and consistency.

In injection moulding, cooling time is crucial. Once the molten plastic has been pushed into the mould cavities, time is required to allow the plastic to cool, forming a finished part.

Introducing the Sustainability Value Proposition (SVP), which guides suppliers and brand owners to accurately communicate the packaging’s sustainability message.

By harnessing the reams of data produced in modern plastics processing facilities, artificial intelligence can improve machine performance.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries has revealed that – through joint research undertaken with Associate Professor Seiji Takahashi of Tohoku University, Associate Professor Satoshi Yamashita of Kanazawa University and Professor Yuzuru Tozawa of Saitama University – its experts have identified the segment of natural rubber synthase that plays an important role in controlling natural rubber polymer chain lengths.

Michelin has become the sole owner of Royal Lestari Utama (RLU), a joint venture with Barito Pacific Group. The tire maker, which previously held 49% of shares, has acquired a further 51%. The RLU project, which was launched in 2015, aims to create the right conditions for the production of Indonesian sustainable natural rubber over a wide area of 70,000ha in Sumatra, in the Jambi province, and 18,000ha in Borneo, in the East Kalimantan province.

The Malaysian rubber market ended lower today, tracking weaker regional rubber futures market and a stronger ringgit against the US dollar, a dealer said. The Japanese futures fell today, in tandem with Thailand’s raw material prices, although a softer yen and China’s demand recovery curbed limited losses.

Reimagine Recycling, an annual program that aims to scale plastic waste solutions and promote a circular economy, is calling on individuals and groups that currently implement community-based plastic waste solution programs to submit proposals that it can support with up to ₱500,000 grant funding. Deadline for submission of entries is on July 15, 2022.

Vietnam’s Danang Rubber Joint Stock Co. (DRC) is to increase tire production and implement a sales & marketing programme targeting annual sales of $5.5 billion (€5.2 billion) by 2025.

Legislation that will hold plastics producers accountable for managing the life cycle of their products will make companies conscious of the possible legal fallout from acting irresponsibly, but curbs on imports and production may ultimately be needed, environmental advocates said. “If properly and fully implemented the law has significant potential to reduce plastic waste leaking into the environment,” Antonio Gabriel M.

Nestlé Philippines is the first multinational consumer goods company to achieve plastic neutrality, where recovering plastic waste is equivalent to what it puts out in the market. It fully supports the consolidated legislation on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for plastic waste and hopes it will be signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Department of Finance (DOF) would support the imposition of a tax on single-use plastic packaging to combat pollution. Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said that a single-use plastic packaging tax is “worth considering” by the Marcos administration to help address the challenges of the worsening climate crisis.