NatureWorks LLC, a US-based maker of bioplastics, announced today that it has achieved a manufacturing breakthrough with a process that reduces its carbon emissions by 60 percent and cuts energy consumption by 30 percent.

The production improvements make the company’s Ingeo^™ plant-based plastics even more eco-friendly than petroleum-based plastics, the firm said. Compared to the impact of PET plastics, the new NatureWorks process emits 77 percent less carbon dioxide per kilogram of resin, and consumes 56 percent less energy.

“This new production technology comes at a time when governments across the world are renewing efforts to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions,” said Steve Davies, director of communications and public affairs for NatureWorks. “Since its introduction, Ingeo™ has satisfied a market need for performance plastics and fibers with better eco-credentials. Today, the environmental piece of this equation takes a major step forward.”

NatureWorks’ biopolymers were the first to reach the market in commercial quantities, becoming available in 2005. Its Ingeo™ plastics are now used in bottles, consumer food packaging, carpeting and food serviceware.

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