The New Age of Sustainable Rigid Packaging Made from Plastics

This year's official theme for Earth Day is “Invest in Our Planet.” Rightfully so, given the current state of the environment we all share. We must take action to not only improve upon our current situation but also to mitigate the risk for human-caused environmental disasters in the future.

Introducing the new wave of sustainable plastics made from plant-based sources that use far less fossil fuels and produce less greenhouse gas emissions.

BioLogiQ, based in Idaho, is a pioneering company that has developed a new revolutionary product derived from plant starches. Enter NuPlastiQ® BioPolymer and the Family of BioBlends® which essentially is an additive to combine with traditional plastics, yet it can be its own entity containing only biopolymers as well. When integrated with traditional plastics such as polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), and polypropylene (PP), it produces a more environmentally friendly plastic product. NuPlastiQ®, in some cases, can even make these traditional fossil fuel plastics better than they were before, such as making them more durable or improving other strength characteristics. In turn, it brings forward a plethora of applications in virtually any industry that may use traditional plastics. Everything you can think of from small containers to agricultural mulch. BioLogiQ and their manufacturing partners can help to reduce the impact of traditional plastics on our environment in the following ways:

1. NuPlastiQ® itself is made and sourced sustainably, only using annually renewable agricultural resources.
2. It helps reduce overall fossil fuel-based plastic use because it takes up a portion of the production materials that would have been made of fossil fuels.
3. The increased durability and strength as compared to the traditional plastic may allow for thinner structures, specifically with blown film applications
4. It helps to reduce greenhouse gas generation by reducing fossil fuels being used and thereby diminishing any emissions that may be created through mining or processing these finite resources.
5. Minimizes the potential of micro plastics accumulating over time, especially in our oceans.

Investing More in the Future of Our Planet and Sustainable Plastic Products

NuPlastiQ® is a unique type of biopolymer made from renewable, biomass resources including corn, potato, and cassava starch. It is made using Biologic’s proprietary iQ™Technology process. Their exclusive process converts high crystalline (mostly amorphous) plastic resin, creating a product extremely similar to traditional thermoplastics, but with the added benefit of being made from renewable resources. Still capable of going through typical plastic production processes, such as injection molding, blow molding, and sheet extrusion.

One key advantage of NuPlastiQ® is its potential compostability. NuPlastiQ® can break down into natural elements much faster with its naturally high degradation rate unlike traditional plastics, which can take hundreds of years to decompose. What this means for the planet is a much lower environmental impact by reducing the amount of plastic waste. Though the cost is slightly higher compared to traditional plastics, it is time to invest more now in our planet for future generations.

Looking to the future, we are already facing many different and new environmental crises. Reducing the amount of fossil fuels used, greenhouse gas generated, and increasing renewable resources are all ways to make a difference. However, this is only the start. As a society, we have all considered the different ways we each can do our part, from taking shorter showers to sorting trash from recycling. For decades we have heard “reduce, reuse, recycle,” as a means to reduce the need for virgin materials. Ever since its introduction, plastic has created a convenience to humanity that makes it virtually impossible to replace at this time. Taking the traditional approach of recycling a step further, BioLogiQ offers an alternative route of improving upon our fundamental problems rather than starting from scratch. Making a more realistic and hopeful outlook for our future by making the entire plastic industry capable of being more circular.

Happy Earth Day!