The Technological Institute of Plastic (AIMPLAS) in Spain has announced that it is coordinating with seven partners on the two-year ‘BIOBOTTLE’ project, which aims to develop a new biodegradable thermal-treatment-resistant material to manufacture dairy products.
The European project involves funding of €1m. It aims to create multilayer and monolayer plastic bottles and bags to package dairy products, which are not required to be separated from the rest of the organic wastes at the end of their brief lifespan.
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Existing commercial biodegradable materials cannot deal with the high-temperature washing that is required in recycling to eliminate waste products and odours.
According to data provided by the FAO in 2011, European countries are the biggest consumers of dairy products in the world, with an average of 261kg annually.
AIMPLAS is part of the register of Centros Tecnológicos of the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and belongs to Federación Española de Centros Tecnológicos and Red de Institutos Tecnológicos de la Comunitat Valenciana.
Image: AIMPLAS and partners work to develop a biodegradable material to pack dairy products. Photo: courtesy of AIMPLAS.
