Category: Uncategorized

South Australia Ban on Single Use Plastic Cutlery And Straws

Over past few years, efforts to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in our oceans have skyrocketed.

Everyone is seemingly doing their bit to limit their impact on the environment, but it takes governments and companies to make the big changes that creates the biggest avenue to change.

The South Australian government has announced it will ban single-use plastic straws and cutlery from next year.

The Australian first initiative still needs to be passed through parliament but it’s hoped thousands of tonnes of plastic will be saved from our waterways.

Minister for Environment and Water David Speirs said: “It is clear from the more than 3,500 submissions that there is significant community and industry support for increased measures to address a range of single-use plastic products and other items.

“Nearly 99 per cent of respondents recognised the environmental problems associated with single use plastics and nearly 97 per cent supported government intervention.

“The community has called for swift action on single-use plastic products.

“In light of this overwhelming community support, the Marshall Liberal Government has developed a plan to ban single-use plastic products and other single-use items.

“At first, we will look at products including plastic straws, cutlery and stirrers with items such as takeaway polystyrene containers and cups next.

“Further consideration would be needed when looking at takeaway coffee cups, plastic bags and other takeaway food service items following consultation.

“We will release draft legislation for further public consultation later this year with the intention to introduce it to the Parliament in 2020.

“I encourage industry stakeholders to register their interest for the stakeholder taskforce.

“Social and corporate action is already underway on some of these items, and there are readily availability alternatives.”

Hobart City Council became the first capital in Australia to ban single-use plastics and straws.

Councillor Bill Harvey said the city was ‘leading by example’ and hoped that other municipalities would follow suit.

And why the hell not?

The move was agreed earlier this year, with the changes to take effect next year. It’s hoped the period in between legislating and enacting will give businesses and stakeholders enough time to make changes to the way they do things.

There’s no word on when or if the state plans to follow in Hobart’s footsteps.

REFS

This article was published on ladbible-com and written by Stewart Perrie

South Australia Will Phase Out Single Use Plastic Cutlery And Straws Next Year

Genomatica Acquires REG Life Sciences’ Assets

Genomatica, a technology leader for bio-based chemicals, announced it has acquired certain assets of the REG Life Sciences division (REG LS) of Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: REGI), the largest supplier of advanced biofuels in North America. Genomatica intends to use these assets to develop a wider range of sustainable chemicals which in turn are used to make numerous everyday materials and products.

The asset acquisition provides Genomatica with its third major product platform, allowing it to expand into household and industrial cleaning products, and flavors and fragrances, further growing its ingredients for the apparel, packaging and personal care markets. Genomatica will also work with ExxonMobil to progress the research program for advanced biofuels from biomass started at REG LS, along with Clariant, which recently joined the collaboration.

Genomatica’s acquisition is designed to create more technology solutions to help brands and their suppliers meet increasingconsumer demand for sustainable products by incorporating renewable or bio-based chemicals into their product offerings.

According to a recent Nielsen survey, 81% of global consumers say it’s extremely or very important for companies to implement programs to improve the environment, while 73% said they would either definitely or probably change their consumption habits to reduce their impact on the environment. Ninety percent of millennials will pay more for products that contain environmentally friendly or sustainable ingredients.

“Consumer demand for sustainable products continues to grow, and successful companies will increasingly switch to ingredients that reduce harm to the environment and work with partners with shared values,” said Christophe Schilling, Genomatica’s CEO. “This acquisition adds powerful technology and talent to help Genomatica enhance the sustainability of everyday products.”

Multiple new products enabled by acquisition

The acquisition enhances Genomatica’s ability to make “long-chain” chemicals from renewable feedstocks. These chemicals are widely used to make products such as surfactants, cosmetics, solvents, polymers, fuels and food ingredients.

They range from eight to 18 carbon atoms in length and may contain multiple functional groups, resulting in long-chain alcohols, esters, acids, ketones, aldehydes, alkanes, amines, amides and branched products. Today, these chemicals are broadly referred to as oleochemicals as they are typically derived from palm oil, vegetable oils, or animal fats, or synthetically from fossil feedstocks such as petroleum.

Genomatica’s approach of making them via fermentation from natural, plant-based sugars or biomass-based feedstocks is more sustainable and environmentally friendly, and provides new functional (performance) attributes.

The selected assets include technology for making drop-in long-chain chemicals and various novel and proprietary products being researched and/or under development. Genomatica is adding over 550 active patents and applications to bring its portfolio to over 1,500 offerings.

The core group of REG LS team members will join Genomatica at its San Diego Innovation Center to continue driving the platform and contributing to broader innovation efforts at Genomatica.

“Genomatica’s strengths will help us realize our journey by scaling sustainable chemicalsfor mainstream applications,” said Fernando Sanchez-Riera, formerly the vice president, R&D, REG LS, and who has now joined Genomatica to lead the continued development of the long-chain platform. “Between the terrific people, culture and energy, we see a common vision and a natural fit.”

The long-chain platform adds to Genomatica’s existing “C4” platform, which has already delivered commercial products for bio-based 1,4-butanediol (used for biodegradable plastics and apparel) and for butylene glycol (cosmetics and personal care), and to its “C6” platform, with numerous chemicals under development including bio-based caprolactam (to make 100% renewable nylon, for apparel and carpet).

About Genomatica

Genomatica is a widely-recognized leader in bioengineering and aims to lead a transition to more sustainable materials. It develops bio-based process technologies that enable a better way to produce widely used chemicals, from alternative feedstocks, with better economics, sustainability and performance.

Genomatica has commercialized processes for the chemical butanediol (for biodegradable plastics and apparel) and for butylene glycol (cosmetics and personal care), and is working on bio-nylon. Awards include the Kirkpatrick Award, for “the most noteworthy chemical engineering technology commercialized in the world” and the ICIS Innovation Award for its Brontide™ butylene glycol. To learn more, visit http://www.genomatica.com.