New Biodegradable Plastic, BioFoam®, Achieves Cradle-to-Cradle Accreditation

The Synbra Group, the parent company of Styropack UK, has been awarded Cradle-to-Cradle Certification from the renowned EPEA (Environmental Protection and Encouragement Agency) for its groundbreaking, biodegradable plastic material, BioFoam®.

BioFoam® is a bio-plastic made using polylactic acid (PLA) a renewable source. The unique polymerisation process that has made its development possible is based on technology developed by Sulzer Chemtech and Purac Biochem.

After first use, BioFoam® can be either remoulded into new products or it is completely biodegradable. One of the most important criteria of the Cradle-to-Cradle principles is that products must be ‘designed for the environment’, with no chemical waste.

“The EPEA undertook an assessment of BioFoam® examining material safety, water and energy utilisation. Also, the social responsibility of the applying company is looked into as part of the examination process,” explains Jan Noordegraaf, Managing Director of Synbra Technology in The Netherlands.

“This is the first time the EPEA has accredited a PLA, foam-based product with its Cradle-to-Cradle award and the Synbra Group is delighted to have won recognition from this well respected institute.”

The first commercial plant to produce BioFoam is currently being built by Synbra, in The Netherlands; it will have a capacity of 5,000 tonnes a year and is expected to be fully operational by summer 2010.

BioFoam® has similar and compatible qualities to the expanded polystyrene packaging products produced by Styropack in the UK and the company has already had customers expressing interest in BioFoam®.

“We are very excited about the potential of this new sustainable material,” says Mike Pocock, Group Sales Manager, Styropack.

“We are looking at applications in the medical transportation and horticulture sectors where a biodegradable packaging solution could be usefully employed.

“I am sure that we will see a lot of interest in BioFoam® for protective packaging in the future and it will become a key part of Styropack’s offer to our customers.”

Synbra intends to take a leading position in Europe as a supplier of biologically degradable polymers from renewable sources and anticipates further growth in this field.