All Knowledge & Insights By Date

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On October 16, 2019, the University of Surrey, United Kingdom, announced that its researchers have partnered with colleagues from France, Germany, and Spain to start working on a new technique to tackle plastic waste. According to the university’s article, this novel technique may revolutionize the recycling industry. The plan is to create engineered microbial communities that will digest two types of plastic polymers -- polyethylene...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 17, 2019, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology unanimously approved the Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act (H.R. 2051), a companion bill to legislation introduced in the Senate by Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Susan Collins (R-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). Representative Dan Lipinski (D-IL) introduced the House bill on April 3, 2019. It is co-sponsored by Representative John Moolenaar (R-MI). The bill is...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On September 23, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced that it plans to begin fieldwork on EPA’s Safer Choice program. According to OIG, its objectives are to identify and assess the controls that EPA has in place to verify that the Safer Choice program meets its goals and achieves quality standards through its product qualification, renewal, and required audit process. OIG states that Safer Choice “is a...

WTVB News, “Trump Meets with Senators from Key Farm States, Touts Biofuel Deal Progress” Market Realist, “Big Biofuels Issue: Trump Meets with Refiners, Senators” Cornell Alliance for Science, “Plant Breeding Innovations Required to Weather Climate Change, Report Says”  Global News Canada, “Burnaby Becomes Latest B.C. City to Declare a Climate Emergency” just-food, “Danone-Backed Meat-Analogue Business Sustainable Bioproducts Eyes...

By Lynn L. Bergeson This month, the American Cleaning Institute (ACI), a Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) member, published its 2019 Sustainability Report titled The Future Is Clean. In its 2019 report, ACI outlines its sustainability goals, which include increased transparency, the reduction of GHG emissions, and the move toward a circular global economy. As part of its activities to achieve such goals, ACI has worked on filling knowledge gaps, harnessing power in the...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On September 10, 2019, the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced in the Federal Register a request for information (RFI) on the U.S. bioeconomy. Calling for input from all interested parties on the U.S. bioeconomy, OSTP’s RFI aims to inform notable gaps, vulnerabilities, and areas to promote and protect in the bioeconomy that may benefit from federal government attention. Input from the public is welcome, including those with capital investments,...

SuccessfulFarming, “Court: EPA Must Consider Environmental Impact When Setting Ethanol Mandate” Research Matters, “Researchers Design Salt-Tolerant Varieties of Indian Rice” Newsweek, “Scientists Turn Carbon Dioxide into Ant Venom Biofuel” Err.ee, “Finance Ministry Rejects Economic Affairs Ministry Biofuel Legal Amends” GreenBiz, “How Synthetic Biology Can Help Build Sustainable Cities” British Plastics and Rubber Magazine, “New...

Live Kindly, “Edible Vegan Seaweed Pods Are the New Soda Bottles” Nikkei Asian Review, “Trapping CO2 into Concrete to Be Cheaper” Reuters, “Trump Promises Ethanol-related ‘Giant Package’ to Please Farmers” ZME Science, “This Fashionable Ski Jacket Is Made from Spider Silk Grown by Bacteria” Composites Manufacturing Magazine, “Lessons in Sustainability” Hellenic Shipping News, “Oil Industry Urges Trump Administration to...

Reuters, “Facing Farmer Anger, Trump Scrambles Cabinet to Brainstorm on Biofuel Policy: Sources” Cosmeticsdesign.com, “Sulapac: The Startup Making Biodegradable, Plastic-Free Beauty Packaging a Reality” The Times, “EU Curbs Used Cooking Oil in Biodiesel Due to Fears of Fraud” Plastics News, “Resin Distributors Taking Different Paths to Sustainability” Engineering.com, “Algae Filter Paper Offers New Hope for Stopping Waterborne Illness”...

Business Times, “Trump intervention triggered EPA’s surprise biofuel waiver decision: sources”   newelectronics, “Greener and Cheaper Way to Make Patterned Metals for Electronics”   TechXplore, “Researchers Turn Plastic Water Bottles into Prosthetic Limbs”   Wisconsin State Journal, “Wind, Solar Developers Say Transmission Line Key to Achieving Tony Evers’ Clean Energy Goal”    npr, “U.S. Recycling...

Redshift, “Bamboo Transcends the Tropics for Carbon-Negative Construction”   New Age, “Trump’s EPA Grants 31 Refinery Waivers from Biofuel Laws, Angering Corn Lobby”   Plastemart.com, “New Bio-Based Thermoplastic Adhesive for the Bonding of Compostable Plastic Coating”   AgWeek, “EPA Official Talks about Future of Biofuels and Carbon Sequestration”   FoodBev Media, “Unilever Debuts Magnum Tubs Created from Recycled...

PlasticsToday, “A Visual Tour of Packaging and Products from Ocean Plastics” geek.com, “Scientist Creates Bioplastic from Mango Peels and Seaweed” foodingredientsfirst.com, “European Scientists Call for EU Rethink of ‘Retrograde’ Gene-Editing Legislation” New Atlas, “Wormy Chemicals Used to Trick Crops into Protecting Themselves” Regulatory Focus, “Industry Groups Support FDA’s Latest Biosimilar Analytic Assessment...

The Intelligencer, “Buckingham Center Offers Biotech Startups $50 Million” Science Codex, “Solar Energy Becomes Biofuel without Solar Cells” ScienceDirect, “Development of a Biorefinery Scheme to Produce Biofuels from Waste Cooking Oil” Sierra Sun Times, “U.S. Senators Renew Bipartisan Effort to Repeal Ethanol Mandate” Feedstuffs, “EPA Issued RFS Exemptions against DOE Advice” The Philadelphia Inquirer, “Trump Administration...

On July 25, 2019, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology held a hearing on “Benign by Design:  Innovations in Sustainable Chemistry.”  Subcommittee Chair Haley Stevens (D-MI) opened the hearing, stating that she looked forward to a discussion about the market drivers for sustainability in the chemical industry, the integration of sustainability in chemistry education, and the role of the federal government in supporting research and...

World Economic Forum, “Cheese Energy Could Power Hundreds of UK Homes” Iran Front Page, “Iran Ready to Tackle Biotechnology Sanctions: VP” Digital Journal, “Switching to Biobased Plastics: IDTechEx Research Asks Why So Slow?” The Yucatan Times, “Yucatan Cenotes to Be Sanitized with Biotechnology” World Economic Forum, “Your Next Pair of Sneakers Could Be Made from Coffee” CleanTechnica, “NextEra Energy Predicts 50% Renewable...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On July 22, 2019, the United Kingdom (U.K.) Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced an open consultation for the development of standards for biodegradable, compostable, and biobased plastics. The consultation welcomes views from any interested parties to identify gaps and provide expert advice on: The overall sustainability of biobased and biodegradable plastic products in comparison with other...

U.S. Department of Energy, “Algae Technology Educational Consortium Prepares Students for Careers in Algae Cultivation and Technologies” World Economic Forum, “These Are the Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2019” Somaiya, “Godavari Biorefineries Ltd. Earns USDA Certified Biobased Product Label for Acetic Acid.” Plastics Today, “Sustainable Plastics: How Far and How Fast Can We Go?” Science Daily, “Left out to Dry: A More Efficient Way to...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On July 8, 2019, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) announced the winners of the Consider Corn Challenge II, a challenge intended to highlight the range of biobased materials that can be produced with field corn feedstock. The three winners included: ExoPolymer, Inc. for a plan to create a new profile of customizable, polysaccharide-based hydrocolloids that are domestically produced by microbial fermentation using corn sugar as a feedstock. These new hydrocolloids...

Youris.com, “Surfing on Bio-based Boards” Kemira, “Kemira to Participate in the Development of 100% Bio-based Chemicals for Paper and Cardboard Production as Part of an EU Funded Project” Green Car Congress, “Researchers in Netherlands Exploring Use of Lignin as Alternative Asphalt Binder” Asian Scientist, “Supercharging Bacterial Biofuel Production” The Express Tribune, “Biofuels Can Help Reduce Current Account Deficit” MediaPost,...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 27, 2019, the Government of Canada’s Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) opened the application process for a grant to develop next generation biobased foam insulation products. Called the Plastics Challenge, this funding opportunity seeks solutions that result in foam insulation products (either spray foam or rigid foam board) that: Are predominantly derived from Canadian forest residue;   Have similar insulation values (within 20 percent) as currently...