Saturday 8 September 2012

Limagrain's "Biolice" in "BioSac" Cement Bags get "OK to Compost" label

Dr. Walter Lopez, Marketing Executive, Limagrain Cereales Ingredients explained that cement is packed in double-layer Kraft paper bags lined with polyethylene film.  This combination cannot be recycled or composted. Limagrain has therefore developed a grade of Biolice™, a 100% compostable bioplastic made from maize, with the same strength and water vapour permeability as the polyethylene.  This has passed EN 13432, has received the “OK to Compost” label and is now being used in Calcia’s BioSac™ cement bag.  A large scale industrial composting test with 2.5 tonnes of used bags in 48 tonnes of organic waste was completed in December 2011 and the finished compost conformed to the NFU 44051 standard as being free of ecotoxins, pathogens and having the right physical characteristics for use as compost.  A control “windrow” used 50 tonnes of the organic waste alone.


Holcim and St Gobain’s Weber have now started using the compostable cement bags.

(from the Biopolymer World Conference, Venice, April 2012)


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