Sustainable Plastics - August/September 2021 - 7

newsround
Assets bioplastics manufacturer
Bio-on fail again to attract a bidder
THE SECOND ATTEMPT to
auction off the assets of the
bankrupt PHA producer Bio-on
on 28 July ended the same way
the first one did: without a buyer.
Even though the starting bid
had been lowered from €95 million
to €72.5 million, no takers
materialised. A third auction is
now likely to be organised.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix project,
an initiative of SITI, the Italian
Syndicate for the Protection of
Investments, representing the interests
of over a thousand small
shareholders of Bio-on, appears
to have been revived. The project
envisions the launch of a Special
Purpose Acquisition Company,
reserved primarily for Bio-on's
minority shareholders and aimed
at the acquisition of the production
plant and related patents.
The goal is to enable these
shareholders to participate in the
relaunch of the business, through
a completely new , independent
financial vehicle. The launch of
the SPAC is conditional, according
to SITI, on the participation
of a reference Industrial Entity
in the capital. If the initiative
goes through, SITI will ask the
new shareholder to commit to
granting prior Bio-on shareholdEastman
announces project for fully circular
recycling study in automotive market
EASTMAN IS COLLABORATING
with the United States Automotive
Materials Partnership
LLC (USAMP) and automotive
recycler PADNOS on a concept
feasibility study to demonstrate
a closed-loop project to recycle
automotive-industry mixed plastic
waste in the automotive supply
chain. USAMP is a subsidiary of
the United States Council for Automotive
Research LLC (USCAR).
When automobiles are at the
end of their life, metals, tires, and
glass account for 80%-90% of
the materials that can be recycled
through traditional mechanical
recycling streams. The other 10%-
20%, referred to as automotive
shedder residue (ASR), consists
ers one or more financial instruments
- free warrants, new paid
shares, - to help them to recover
their lost investment. SITI added
that 'obviously, Phoenix SPAC
would allow no relationship and
/ or participation whatsoever -
direct or indirect - in relation to
the project, by previous company
representatives and / or majority
shareholders involved in the legal
proceedings currently underway.'
The Bio-on plant
60% of plastics
companies have
staff absent due
to 'pingdemic'
THE BRITISH PLASTICS
Federation (BPF) has published
a survey of its members
showing that 60% of
plastics companies have
staff absent as a direct result
of being 'pinged' by the
NHS COVID-19 app, with an
average of 7% of staff being
requested to isolate.
The flash survey also
found that 71% of companies
had people off work because
they are self-isolating (possibly
due to being 'pinged'),
cannot get to work due to
a lack of travel services, are
caring for others who are
isolating, or have contracted
the virus. Taking all these
factors into account, companies
reported an average of
8% of staff off work.
Completed by 106 compaof
mixed plastic and other non-recycled
materials that currently
end up in landfills or are recovered
through waste-to-energy
technologies. Under this initiative
PADNOS will use ASR as a sustainable
feedstock for Eastman's
molecular recycling process, creating
a truly circular solution.
The 12-month study will also
assess how well Eastman's carbon
renewal technology (CRT),
one of Eastman's two molecular
recycling technologies, breaks
down the plastic-rich fraction
of ASR into molecular building
blocks. Using CRT to recycle
these complex plastics, Eastman
can replace fossil-based feedstock
and produce new virgin-like
Eastman to study molecular recycling
car shredder residue
performance polymers for use in
new automotive applications.
USAMP sees the potential
for energy savings and reduced
overall greenhouse gas emissions
while eliminating a significant
fraction of the 5-7 million tons of
ASR generated annually in the
United States from landfills.
nies in just under 24 hours,
53% stated they have had to
reduce production, with 60%
of those citing a lack of a
staff due to COVID-19. Since
the start of the pandemic,
one in five companies has
completely stopped production
at some point.
50% of companies reported
they were considering
more automation in
their plants as a result of the
pandemic and 60% were
permanently changing their
working from home policy.
The results were from a
survey circulated to members
of the BPF between 22
and 23 July. They were published
28 July 2021.
AMGTA adds 8 new members to its ranks
THE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURER
Green Trade Association
(AMGTA), a global trade organization
created to promote
the environmental benefits of
additive manufacturing (AM),
announced today that eight additional
leading AM companies
have joined the trade group to
advance sustainability in AM,
bringing its membership ranks
to 28 members.
Joining the AMGTA as a new
Founding Member is Stratasys,
a global leader in polymer 3D
printing solutions for industries
such as aerospace, automotive,
consumer products, and
healthcare.
Stratasys will serve alongside
existing Founding Members
ExOne; QC Laboratories,
an advanced non-destructive
testing laboratory focused on
AM components; Sintavia, a designer
and 3D printer of a new
generation of flight and launch
components; and Taiyo Nippon
Sanso Corporation, a supplier of
stable industrial gases to a wide
variety of global industries.
These five Founding Members
will determine the strategic direction
of the AMGTA, provide
governance oversight, and consider
future research projects
that members may vote to commission.
Joining
the AMGTA as new
Participating Members are:
3D Metalforge, 3D Systems,
3YOURMIND, AMT, Hyperion
Metals, NatureWorks, and The
Barnes Global Advisors.
August/September 2021
7
Sustainable Plastics - August/September 2021

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