March 8th, 2011

Beverage Companies Go Sustainable With Biodegradable Plastics, Ramped Up Recycling

Coca-Cola (nyse: KO) announced plans today to invest $24 million, along with ECO Plastics Ltd. (which will contribute about $5 million of that) to build a new, plastic bottle recycling facility in Lincolnshire, England. In recent weeks, the company also struck a landmark deal to sell its 30 percent plant-based plastic to Heinz, which will begin to use it in ketchup and condiments packaging in… → Read More

February 24th, 2011

Disposables Debate: Can Recycling, Materials Innovation Make Plastic Bag Bans Obsolete?

Single-use plastic grocery bags, and the various fees, taxes and bans proposed to curb pollution from their disposal, are causing controversy again this week.

A newly surfaced study, still under peer review, suggests that disposable bags aren’t as bad for the environment as re-usable cotton bags.

The study — The Life Cycle Assessment of Supermarket Carrier Bags by Dr. Chris Edwards and… → Read More

January 26th, 2011

Metabolix Oilseeds Gets $203,000 Grant To Test 'False Flax' As Possible Petroleum Replacement

A Cambridge, Mass. biosciences company that makes plastics, chemicals and energy from renewable crops rather than petroleum, Metabolix, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBLX) today announced that its subsidiary, Metabolix Oilseeds, obtained a $203,000 grant from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture (or USD $203,614.92) to test a crop called Camelina Sativa, or false flax, as a possible petroleum… → Read More