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By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 4, 2018, Unilver announced a partnership with Ioniqa and Indorama Ventures to pioneer a technology that converts Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) waste back into transparent virgin grade material for use in food packaging.  This technology, developed by Ioniqa, aims to increase the percentage of PET that is recycled by making it possible to convert all PET waste, including colored packs, back into PET after separating out color and other contaminates....

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 20, 2018, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Green Chemistry Institute (GCI) announced the opening of the 2018 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards.  The announcement states that EPA “supports the continuation of the awards program for 2018 under the sponsorship of the ACS GCI,” and “[t]o ensure continuity, the awards categories and guidelines are remaining the same, only the timing of the awards cycle is changing, and the ACS GCI will be managing...

By Lynn L. Bergeson EPA recently announced that it will be hosting a Safer Choice Partner & Stakeholder Summit on May 14, 2018, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, that will “build off of the previous Summits, exploring topics of importance to stakeholders and the program. The Summit will include informational sessions, and also breakout sessions with a focus on dialogue and developing solutions that can advance Safer...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 25, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it was seeking applications for the 2018 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Awards in a notice in the Federal Register.  At the 2018 Partner of the Year Awards, Safer Choice will recognize stakeholder organizations from five broad categories: Formulators/Product Manufacturers of both Consumer and Institutional/Industrial products; Purchasers and Distributors; Retailers; Supporters (e.g.,...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 12, 2018, House Agriculture Committee Chair Michael Conaway (R-TX) released the Committee’s draft Farm Bill reauthorization, the “Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018” (H.R. 2).  The 600-plus page draft legislation includes a number of provisions that will be of interest to Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) members and the biofuel industry, including the following sections: Sec. 6402. Biobased markets program. ...

Bloomberg, “Your Regular Audi Could Run on Straw Soon” Youris, “A New Sustainable Initiative in Bristol, in the UK, Uses Bio-Based Materials to Face the Need for Additional and Affordable Housing Supply” Science Daily, “Researchers Developing Renewable Energy Approach for Producing Ammonia” Times of Oman, “Omani Researchers Make Bio-Plastic Out of Fish Scales”

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 17, 2018, the Green Chemistry & Commerce Council (GC3) announced that ten startup companies had won the opportunity to pitch their technologies to major companies at the GC3’s 3rd Annual Green & Bio-Based Chemistry Technology Showcase & Networking Event. The Technology Showcase will be held on May 8, 2018, during the GC3 Annual Innovators Roundtable, with participation from 16 large companies, including Apple, BASF, Johnson &...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 11, 2018, the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) announced €115 million in funding for the 2018 Call for proposals focusing on feedstock, process, products, and market uptake. BBI JU is a partnership between the European Union (EU) and the Bio-based Industries Consortium that was launched to develop strong European bio-based industries.  This call includes 21 topics with 11 Research and Innovation Action (RIA) topics, 3 Coordination and...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 13, 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced an upcoming webinar entitled “Bioproducts, Grown and Made in America”  that will focus on American-produced bioproducts made from renewable sources including plants, algae, and wastes.  Speakers from BETO, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories will discuss how the biobased...

Anellotech, “Anellotech Achieves Key Process Technology Operating Milestone” Veolia, “Veolia Grows Biomass Leadership, To Operate Two Additional Projects in Georgia”  Plastics Today, “PHA Bioplastics a ‘Tunable’ Solution for Convenience Food Packaging” Reuters, “South Africa Signs $4.7 Billion of Delayed Renewable Energy Deals”