Paper bowls and cups coated with ecovio® PS 1606 can resist oil and temperature up to 100°C, ensuring the food inside remains safe
Certified compostable food containers made of ecovio will facilitate segregated organic waste collection and composting in the future
At the 4th Taobao Maker Festival September 12 – 25, 2019, Ele.me, Alibaba’s food delivery platform, will serve food and drinks in paper bowls and cups coated with a thin layer of BASF’s certified compostable ecovio® PS 1606.
In the future, these bowls and cups can be composted together with separately collected food waste in industrial composting plants.
The resulting compost provides Chinese agricultural soil with valuable nutrients and helps fight soil erosion.
“We’re excited to work with Ele.me to provide paper bowls and cups coated with ecovio during the festival. The outstanding sustainability features of the products are in line with the event’s theme ‘creativity’. With ecovio, we can contribute to a circular economy in China, by enabling in the future a separate collection of food wastes together with compostable bowls,” said Amir Pourirani, Head of Global Marketing Biopolymers, BASF. In China, 46 cities plan to introduce separate organic waste collection in 2020.
The ecovio-coated bowls and cups can be composted directly after use with separately collected food wastes in an industrial composting facility. ecovio is biodegraded by microorganisms and their enzymes, leaving only water, carbon dioxide and biomass. This helps to close the loop on food waste, ensuring that precious nutrients are returned to the soil to enter the food cycle again.
Unlike paper food containers made from PLA (polylactic acid), bowls and cups coated with ecovio are resistant to oil and temperature up to 100°C. It is therefore especially suitable for holding Chinese food which is often hot and oily. In addition, the coated bowls and cups have passed the stringent tests set by the Shanghai Institute of Quality Inspection and Technical Research and received certification for food contact and online catering services.
The Taobao Maker Festival, one of the significant events Alibaba holds each year, celebrates the creativity of Taobao merchants, especially the young generation. The online platforms, Taobao and Ele.me, are owned by the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group.
Refs
Plastics in the Circular Economy
15 June 2020 – Chemical Recycling Commitments and Incentives, Deep Sea Plastic, Greece Plastic Ban, NY Composting
12 June 2020 – Michigan Waste, Definitions, Greenpeace Malaysia, Tax and Voluntary Schemes, Shell Sustainable and Circular Plastics News
7 June 2020 – Industry 4.0, PEF, Perstorp, Timber and Chemical Recycling
5 June 2020 – Woodly, Plastic-Free Masks, Plastic Tax, UK & US Survey, Biodegradable War, Spain
3 June 2020 – Chemical Recycling Europe, Sustainability on Hold, Lyondellbasell, Ikea, Covestro
2 June 2020 – EU and Compostable Plastics, Biodegradable Additives, RWDC, Black Plastic, Oxo
1 June 2020 – Nestle, Denmark, Weather, Mitsui, Plastic Free July, Compost Shortage
31 May 2020 – Iowa, Zalando, Sabic, South Africa, Dow and Mondelez
29 May 2020 – China Scandal, Mitsubishi, Tyres, Flexible Packaging, Sargassum, Canada Lignin
27 May 2020 – SK Chemical, Borealis, Omya, Stora Enso, UPM, Dow and Good Natured