Second Chances for Bioplastics Technologies
New opportunities for Trellis Earth Products and Metabolix.
Bioplastic serviceware manufacturer Trellis Earth Products announced in late July it would soon begin operation at Cereplast’s former Seymour, Ind., production site. Trellis, based in Wilsonville, Ore., acquired the assets of Cereplast, including production equipment, patents, inventory, and trademarks, as part of Cereplast’s Chapter 7 liquidation proceedings. Cereplast had marketed a range of fully and partially biobased plastics compounds.
Meanwhile, Metabolix of Cambridge, Mass., announced an injection of capital from a group of its managers, board members, and outside investors. The company is seeking to regain momentum after the February 2012 decision by its former owner, Archer Daniels Midland, to end its commercial alliance with the company.
The overall bioplastics market continues to develop, with global demand for biobased and biodegradable plastics forecast to rise 19%/yr to more than 2 billion lb in 2017.
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