Agricultural packaging

During the period 2003-2005, the BPS has certified a large number of GreenPla products in Japan. Tables 4.6, 4.7, 4.8 and 4.9 show certified GreenPla products in the fields of daily use, packaging, agriculture and horticulture and foodservice. 

Plastic wastes may be the remains of production or post-consumer wastes, the latter being classified as municipal, packaging, agricultural, automotive and electrical. Packaging wastes are the major category [33, 52-54]. These are mainly thermoplastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride [28, 33, 55-56]. 

PHA production may be destined to partially replace non-degradable synthetic polymers in various applications, such as packaging, agriculture, leisure, rapid restoration, health and the biomedical domain [POL 11, SUD 00]. 

The properties of the copolymer can be tailored to make it suitable either for molded articles such as shampoo bottles, or thin films for plastic envelopes or carrier bags. However, the polymer is costly, a container made of Biopol being about seven times more expensive than polyethylene. This polymer is now in production and used for packaging, agricultural products, and disposable items of personal hygiene. 

Biopolymers are used in diversified sectors including medicine, packaging, agriculture, and automotive industry. With advancement, choice of materials, and environmental awareness, some of the materials are replaced whereas the others are complimented. Biodegradable plastic films may be used as garbage bags, disposable... 

Biocomposites usefulness is no longer in question and more and more reports are focused on applicative aspects in the environment, packaging, agriculture devices, biomedical fields, etc. Moreover, because industrials were concerned about sustainable developments and a controlled end of life, production cost of biopolymers goes on decreasing which will allow strong developments of biopolymer-based materials. Therefore, these materials will be technically and financially competitive towards synthetic polymer-based composites. Then, this class of material opens a new dimension for plastic industry for a better sustainable development. 

Biodegradable polymers have received much more attention in the last decades [6-9] due their potential applications in the areas related to environmental protection (e.g., packaging, agriculture, etc.) and the maintenance of physical health (e.g., medicine - biomaterials for regenerative therapies drug release). 

The production of PHA is intended to replace synthetic non-degradahle polymers for a wide range of applications packaging, agriculture, leisure, fast food, hygiene, as well as medicine and biomedical, since PHA is hiocompatihle. 

PLA offers unique features of biodegradability, thermoplastic processibility and ecofiiendliness that offer potential applications as commodity plastics as in packaging, agricultural products and disposable materials. On the other hand, the polymer also has a bright future for applications in medicine, smgery and pharmaceuticals. The fundamental polymer chemistry of PLA allows control of certain fiber properties that make the fiber suitable for a wide variety of technical textile fiber applications, especially for apparel and performance apparel applications ... 

Compost bags Consumer packaging Agriculture/ horticulture film Rubbermaid , Calpbalon , PaperMate BioTuf ... 

Explores emerging areas of polymer applications, including the automotive and aerospace industries, packaging, agriculture, home appliances, office equipment, communication, electronics, electrical technology, and biomedicine... 

China s plastics industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in China due to the rapid development and soaring demand in such plastics end-use markets as packaging, agriculture, consumer products, construction, automotive and other general industry. Total end-use plastics demand reached 19.7 million tonnes in 1998 and advanced to 32.9 million tonnes by 2003, increasing by 10.8% annually. Total plastics production increased to 16.9 million tonnes in 2003. China also imported 16.5 million tonnes of plastics, a record high, in 2003. 

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