PLASTICS AND ENVIRONMENT Leading global industry players and cities join to form The New Plastics Economy initiative / Ellen MacArthur report serves as blueprint / Three-year project aimed at achieving a system-wide transformation	01.06.2016
ITALY Plastics industry in strong recovery mode in 2015 / Thermoplastics consumption rises by 3% to 5.5m t / Strong acceleration in Q4 / Demand from automotive segment particularly high / Biotechnology continues to play an important role	02.03.2016
PLASTICS AND ENVIRONMENT Hamburg municipality in Germany plans to ban coffee capsules and one-way packaging / Guidelines for “environmentally friendly” sourcing	01.03.2016
VERSALIS Bio-butadiene joint venture with Genomatica commences pilot-scale production / Feedstock for bio-polybutadiene	25.02.2016
ASSOCIATIONS PlasticsEurope appoints Javier Constante and Daniele Ferrari as vice presidents	14.01.2016
BIOPLASTICS Global growth rates remain high / Degradable and bio-based polymers still niche materials / Market dominated by drop-in applications / Europe is leading production region / 5m t of bio-PET for bottles by 2018	23.10.2015
EVENTS “European Biopolymer Summit 2015” to be held in London in December	25.09.2015
EVENTS “2015 European Biopolymer Summit” to be held in London in December	22.07.2015
ITALY Plastics consumption down in 2014 / Lack of investment / Too many small businesses / Only slight signs of recovery / Efforts to switch to "green" chemistry not sufficient / Study by Plastic Consult	17.03.2015
ENI / VERSALIS Operating loss in Q4 halved / Demand weakness bites / Intermediates and PE margins improve / Plan to close Porto Marghera cracker put on ice	20.02.2015
YEAR IN REVIEW 2014 Part 1 – Overview: European plastics industry ploughs on / High energy costs and bag bans still an issue / Realities of shale revolution start knocking on Brussels' doors	11.12.2014
ITALY Petchem industry trying to shake off an uncertain past / Going green / Many obstacles still remain	05.12.2014
ENI / VERSALIS Porto Marghera cracker to be permanently closed / Conversion to bioplastics hub confirmed	25.09.2014
AGRICULTURAL FILM Global market to reach 7m t at value of USD 10.5 bn in 2020 / LLDPE most dominant material / China as leading consumer / Grand View Research report	29.08.2014
MATRICA First biochemical plant begins operations in Porto Torres / Additional downstream facilities set to start up in near future	18.06.2014
CARRIER BAGS European parliament approves legislation on lightweight carrier bags / Latest legal hurdle mounted / Decision welcomed by European Bioplastics and Novamont	17.04.2014
EVENTS “7th International Conference on Bio-Based Materials” to be held in Cologne in April	19.03.2014
NOVAMONT Majority share in Mater-Biopolymer acquired from Mossi & Ghisolfi / Upstream integration through production of “Origo-Bi” renewable polyester used as “Mater-Bi” feedstock / Capacity for 100,000 t/y	05.03.2014
BIOCHEMICALS European Union established BIO-QED project to drive production of chemicals based on renewable resources	04.03.2014
NOVAMONT Italian supermarket chain Unicoop Firenze to use "Mater-Bi" bioplastic bags across outlets in Florence and Tuscany	25.02.2014
NOVAMONT Italian bioplastics producer collaborates with Swedish firms on bioplastic coating for new eco-package	14.02.2014
YEAR IN REVIEW 2013 Part 1 – General overview: US shale gas boom has European plastics players worried / Commodity sectors dogged by overcapacity, insolvencies / Italy goes all out for biopolymers / Mixed picture for European converters	13.12.2013
BIOPLASTICS Politics of biodegradable plastics misleading? / Compostability only deemed necessary for fruit nets and root balls / Drop-in solutions for better ecological efficiency / Production remains expensive	20.11.2013
NOVAMONT Generation 4 “Mater-Bi” from renewable oil and sugar / Genomatica process	01.07.2013
PEOPLE Novamont: Gunter Pauli new chairman	19.06.2013

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