Danimer Packaging Film Biodegradable in Marine Environments

Packaging manufacturer Danimer Scientific’s 112291 film resin has received certification as “Biodegradable in Marine Environments” from SSCCP, a research institute located in Milan, Italy.

The certification follows certification of the the film, which is designed for use as a packaging material and can be also be printed on, with Vincotte’s OK Compost, OK Home, OK Water and OK Soil certifications and SSCCP certification for “Anaerobic Digestion,” the company says.

Danimer says that the certification confirms that certain biodegradable plastics can offer multiple end of life options. The company describes this as a unique attribute that broadens the market the company serves.

In April, Danimer’s ReNew Flexible Film Resins received a fresh water biodegradability certification from SSCCP. ReNew Film Resins are applicable for disposable shopping bags, compostable bags, odor barrier packaging products and agricultural mulch film, Danimer said.

In October last year, bottle manufacturer ENSO Plastics and drinks companies Aquamantra and Balance Water were sued by the California attorney general’s office over claims that they misled customers by falsely marketing water bottles as biodegradable. ENSO was accused of falsely claiming that its bottles would biodegrade in less than five years, leaving behind no harmful residues. Aquamantra and Balance Water, also named in the suit, use ENSO bottles to package their drinks. In 2008, California made it illegal to claim a plastic food or drink container was biodegradable when such products can take many years to break down.

In September 2012, chemical company BASF partnered with the Seattle Mariners to debut compostable snack bags at a baseball game. The first 10,000 fans that arrived at Safeco Field to see the Mariners take on the Boston Red Sox on September 5 received a free bag of peanuts in BASF’s prototype packaging, developed with its biopolymer technology. Mariners VP of operations Scott Jenkins described the flexible packaging made with BASF biopolymers the “holy grail of greening our waste stream.”