Jun 25 2008
Plantic Technologies Limited, manufacturer of biodegradable packaging and materials, has been selected as the winner of this year’s PACIA Sustainability (Plastics) Award. The award was proudly accepted by Plantic’s Chief Executive Officer, Brendan Morris, at the PACIA National Conference, Melbourne.
Each year, PACIA awards outstanding performance in Health and Safety, Environment and Sustainability through the PACIA Awards Program. Margaret Donnan, PACIA Chief Executive Officer, commented, “The Awards are an important and prestigious forum through which PACIA and member companies are able to promote and share innovation and leading practice, and provide recognition of outstanding performance.”
In winning the PACIA Sustainability Award, Plantic was recognised for its contribution to environmental protection and conservation of natural resources, its contribution to society, and its employee, community and stakeholder engagement.
In terms of sustainability, Plantic’s “environmentally friendly” R1 product provides a fully biodegradable, water dispersible, organic alternative to synthetic plastics. It is also made from renewable resources – non-GM high amylose corn starch – and offers the unique properties of being: biodegradable after use; home compostable; and compostable to European (EN13432) and American (ASTM 6400) standards.
Plantic® sheet has the lowest absolute energy consumption across the entire lifecycle of the material. Life Cycle Assessments of Plantic® indicate that the total amount of energy consumed for the production of 1000 Plantic® trays is about half that of petrochemically derived plastics. In commenting, Mr. Morris said, “We are delighted to have won this prestigious PACIA award. It emphasises Plantic’s unique value offering which is characterised by functional, environmental and cost benefits and reinforces that our customers are leading by example in incorporating Plantic® materials into their product offerings.”