Issue 01/2016
Automotive Foam Basics: Public Procurement
Automotive
Foam
Basics: Public Procurement
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daily upated news at<br />
www.bioplasticsmagazine.com<br />
News<br />
SPC published position paper against oxo-additives<br />
The Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, has released a formal position paper against<br />
biodegradability additives for petroleum-based plastics, which are marketed as enhancing the sustainability of plastic by<br />
rendering the material biodegradable. The SPC has evaluated the use of biodegradability additives for conventional petroleumbased<br />
plastics, and has found that these additives do not offer any sustainability advantage and they may actually result in more<br />
environmental harm.<br />
The position paper lists the following reasons for the stance against these additives:<br />
• They don’t enable compostability, which is the meaningful indicator of a material’s ability to beneficially return nutrients to<br />
the environment.<br />
• They are designed to compromise the durability of plastic and the additive manufacturers have not yet demonstrated an<br />
absence of adverse effects on recycling.<br />
• The creation of a litter friendly material is a step in the wrong direction, particularly when the material may undergo<br />
extensive fragmentation and generation of micro-pollution before any biodegradation occurs.<br />
• The biodegradation of petroleum-based plastics releases fossil carbon into the atmosphere, creating harmful greenhouse<br />
gas emissions.<br />
Concerning litter and micro-pollution, the position paper says: “Most additives are designed to fragment petroleum-based<br />
plastics into small pieces in order to make it sufficiently available to the microorganisms that perform biodegradation.”<br />
However, bioplastics MAGAZINE has been waiting for 10 years now for satisfactory, scientifically backed evidence that a complete<br />
biodegradation by microorganisms will happen, in whatever timeframe. The SPC paper continues that the “fragmented micropieces<br />
remain invisible to the naked eye, yet their effects as micro-litter can be detrimental. Beyond the well-documented<br />
environmental impacts of micro-pollution, the marketing of biodegradable petroleum-based plastics as being less detrimental<br />
to the environment may contribute to improper end-of-life disposal and pollution.”<br />
In her December 30, 2<strong>01</strong>5 article at Plastics Today (bit.ly/1OM7BeC) Clare Goldsberry expresses that she doesn’t think<br />
“that most people want plastics to disappear. What we’d like to see disappear is the litter in our communities and in the<br />
world’s waterways. And that’s not a plastics problem – that’s a people problem. An additive that makes plastic litter degrade to<br />
fragments in 180 days is not exactly what I’d call a solution.” MT<br />
The complete SPC position paper can be downloaded for free from http://bit.ly/200Nv8U<br />
Jumbo merger in the chemical industry<br />
DuPont (Wilmington, Delaware, USA) and The Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Michigan, USA) announced in mid December<br />
2<strong>01</strong>5 hat their boards of directors unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which the companies will combine<br />
in an all-stock merger of equals. The combined company will be named DowDuPont. The parties intend to subsequently<br />
pursue a separation of DowDuPont into three independent, publicly traded companies through tax-free spin-offs. This would<br />
occur as soon as feasible, which is expected to be 18 – 24 months following the closing of the merger, subject to regulatory<br />
and board approval.<br />
The companies will include a leading global pure-play Agriculture company; a leading global pure-play Material Science<br />
company; and a leading technology and innovation-driven Specialty Products company. Each of the businesses will have clear<br />
focus, an appropriate capital structure, a distinct and compelling investment thesis, scale advantages, and focused investments<br />
in innovation to better deliver superior solutions and choices for customers.<br />
It is expected that the well known biobased plastic products will be continued under the the newly to be created Material<br />
Science Company: This company will be a pure-play industrial leader, consisting of DuPont’s Performance Materials segment,<br />
as well as Dow’s Performance Plastics, Performance Materials and Chemicals, Infrastructure Solutions, and Consumer<br />
Solutions (excluding the Dow Electronic Materials business) operating segments. The combination of complementary<br />
capabilities will create a low-cost, innovation-driven leader that can provide customers in high-growth, high-value industry<br />
segments in packaging, transportation, and infrastructure solutions, among others with a broad and deep portfolio of costeffective<br />
offerings. Combined pro forma 2<strong>01</strong>4 revenue for Material Science is approximately USD 51 billion.<br />
Upon completion of the transaction, Andrew N. Liveris, President, Chairman and CEO of Dow, will become Executive<br />
Chairman of the newly formed DowDuPont Board of Directors and Edward D. Breen, Chair and CEO of DuPont, will become<br />
Chief Executive Officer of DowDuPont. In these roles, both Liveris and Breen will report to the Board of Directors. In addition,<br />
when named, the chief financial officer will report to Breen. MT<br />
www.dupont.com | www.dow.com | www.dowdupontunlockingvalue.com<br />
bioplastics MAGAZINE [<strong>01</strong>/16] Vol. 11 5
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