Benvic’s Plantura – breaking down to break through

Issues of sustainability have been focused to date on the famous “3Rs”, repair, reuse, and recycle. This paradigm is still valid in most cases - except one: when it comes to products in the environment that – with the best will in the world - cannot be retrieved or recovered.

This external factor often throws up the worst cases of plastics pollution, discovered in conventional and microplastic formats, with adverse physical and chemical environmental consequences.

A new biodegradable solution to maximize the environmental performance

Plastics substitution with alternative materials such as metals, ceramics or natural materials is hardly the answer. In most cases the carbon footprints and the lack of product degradation can be significantly worse.

For many years now it has been hoped that degradable material solutions - involving soils and products – could be engineered. Benvic is delighted to announce the first such polymer compound that does the job - Plantura AT803HC-N.

Plantura was launched by Benvic some five years ago on a twin track development path - composability on one side, and durability on the other. Plantura composability is targeted on the packaging sector where this feature is an excellent alternative for food packaging applications.

Durability maximizes the environmental performance of the product due to its very high biobased content. Both qualities are needed:

The product needs to maintain integrity ‘on the shelf’ and in service before its biodegradable aspects come to the fore and it dissolves into the environment.

Creating the perfect blend of degradability and durability has therefore been the primary Benvic challenge. After many years of hard work we are very pleased to report that our new Plantura AT803HC-N grade has finally made the grade:

The ‘OK biodegradable SOIL’ trade mark is the appropriate certification for this work and Plantura AT803HC-N now has this title - proof of degradation in the environment for which the maximum term is 24 months. 

The other key feature in the regulation requires a complete absence of ecotoxicity which our new Plantura grade effectively demonstrates.

The key balancing act here for the material is the trade-off between controlled degradability and the material’s thermomechanical performance when being made into products.

OK biodegradable SOIL certification

Benvic engineers have also worked long and hard to ensure that our new Plantura grade performs through its service life – that the material’s aging behavior maintains some essential characteristics such as tensile module and tensile strength.

Benvic anticipates enthusiastic and initial market uptake in outdoor applications that are related to gardening, agriculture or outdoor sport and leisure. Once proven in the world, the benefits of this Plantura material are expected to find supporters and markets in many other sectors.

Benvic’s ‘OK biodegradable SOIL’ certification shows that we are making great strides to prove that, yet again, Benvic is Redesigning plastics. For good.

Benvic’s ‘OK biodegradable SOIL’ certification shows that we are making great strides to prove that, yet again, Benvic is Redesigning plastics. For good.