NEW COMPOSTABLE MATER-BI FRUIT AND VEGETABLE BAGS WITH HIGH RENEWABLE CONTENT READY FOR EU MARKETS

Novara/Milan, 24 May 2016 – The third and fourth generation Mater-Bi is now available for the production of fruit and vegetable bags in those European markets where demand for compostable solutions is growing, also as a result of new national legislations restricting the use of traditional plastics.
 
From the 1st of January 2017, for instance, all plastic fruit and vegetable bags for self-service in French supermarkets will have to be "home compostable" – i.e. that can be disposed of together with household food waste and sent for composting – and with a growing renewable component (minimum 30% in the first year to rise gradually to 50% by 2020 and to 60% by 2025).
 
The Novamont Group, thanks to important investments sustained in the last ten years in new pioneering plants and integrated supply chains, is already able to offer the market "home compostable" applications with a renewable content well above 30%, due to advanced green bio-chemical intermediates produced in the new Matrìca biorefinery in Porto Torres, Sardinia.
 
Fourth-generation Mater-Bi with a renewable content well over 50% will be available from September 2016, when the new Mater-Biotech plant in Bottrighe (Rovigo, Veneto) will open for production.
 
The new fruit and vegetable bags are currently undergoing blind tests in several European supermarket chains. Third and fourth generation Mater-Bi films have exceptional features:
 
• maximum transparency
• tear resistant
• resistant to breakage
• breathable

 
The Novamont Group is the world leader in the development and production of bio-based materials through the integration of chemistry, the environment and agriculture. The main fields of application of Novamont’s biochemicals are packaging, separate organic waste collection, retail purchasing, disposable tableware, farming, cosmetics and automotive. In Italy all carrier bags distributed by major retailers are made from Novamont’s Mater-Bi®, a bioplastic fully biodegradable and compostable according to EU standard EN 13432. The company produced biodegradable tableware for the 2012 Olympic Games and works with many local councils (including the City of Milan and some London boroughs) engaged in the separate collection of bio-waste. Novamont has a portfolio of 1,000 patents, 600 employees and a global turnover of €170M. It has its headquarters in Novara (Italy), commercial offices in Germany, France and the United States and operates through its own distributors in Benelux, Scandinavia, the UK, China, Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
 
For further information:
 
Andrea Giannotti (Mr.)
Director Protagoras PR
On behalf of NOVAMONT
+44 7825 892 640
giannotti@protagoras.co.uk