During this difficult time, the safety of our customers and employees is our highest priority. As the COVID-19 outbreak evolves, we are taking all necessary precautions to ensure this, while continuing to deliver the best possible customer service to you. Our online shop is currently operating as normal, with high safety measures being taken at our warehouse. Orders are processed and shipped in a safe way and on time. As always, our customer service is available to answer any questions you may have by phone or email.

We are a diverse and dedicated international team and from an early stage we have been closely following the development of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Not only in business, but also in private life, the main thought that guides and motivates our entire team is the need to build solidarity, especially in times like these. In practical terms, this means that we are actively supporting our regular customers who are actors in the health system (for example, clinics, pharmacies and aid organizations) by meeting their needs for single-use packaging.

From the 8 billion metric tons of plastics which have been produced since the 1950’s hardly 10% has been recycled. Recycling of plastic waste is problematic in general, but this pertains especially to the highly polluted, fragmented mix of household plastics. To make anything useful out of this diverse stream is increasingly becoming a herculean task. With the global production of plastic set to double within the next 15 years we need swift and concrete solutions. Marginal gains won’t get us out of this recycling mess. Fortunately, there are ways to solve it and biobased materials are part of the answer.

For a sustainable future, we need to mimic natural systems and design products like nature would. The Sulapac® straw fully biodegrades, just like tree leaves, leaving no microplastics behind. Based on sustainably sourced wood from industrial side streams, it can be organically recycled.

Thorough research commissioned by Italian bioplastics manufacturer Novamont shows that Mater-Bi, which is produced by the company, will completely biodegrade in the marine environment. Despite the presented evidence of Mater-Bi’s biodegradability, Novamont is, however, keen to stress that this is not an excuse for the improper disposal of Mater-Bi packaging or bioplastics products in general.

The amount of plastic waste in oceans and seas is growing rapidly and causes widespread concern. On 28 May 2018, the European Commission presented a comprehensive set of measures in the new single-use (SUP) directive to address the important issues of littering and marine pollution, with the additional objective to stimulate the circular economy.

Our view

We are happy to share that our pretty little sugarcane bowl Carice was included in the test.

Something you might have experienced before on the beach: just as you plant your feet in the sand, you start to feel little pieces of plastic between your toes. This is actually a substantial part of marine litter; you can’t see it but you can feel it. A recent scientific study found that every kilogram of European sand contained on average 250 microplastics: fragments smaller than 5 mm. There are even traces of significantly smaller plastic fragments, called nanoplastics. Ironically, these tiny bits of plastic cause the greatest problems.  All different types and sizes of plastic form the plastic soup. The world’s ever increasing use of plastics has created large areas of floating plastic waste in rivers and oceans and many of these plastics break down into smaller fragments. Our demand for plastic does not only have devastating consequences for the oceans, but marine wildlife is also affected by plastic pollution. It appears that fish tend to mistake the scent of plastic for food and ingest it on purpose. Because the vast majority of plastics is not biodegradable, let alone (bio)degradable, it will remain in the environment for a long time. Through various ways, for example by eating fish and shellfish, these small fragments of plastic have entered our food chain and our bodies. 

Wood and paper packaging is interwoven through our everyday lives in undeniable ways. To ensure the continued availability (for production) of wood products, such as paper and cardboard, it is necessary, next to recycling, to manage forests sustainably. PEFC, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, promotes worldwide sustainable forest management through forest certification and the products that come from (these) certified woods. At Bio Futura we carry various certificates, including PEFC, to provide our clients with insight and assurance that our products are sourced in the most sustainable way. For the purchase of our products, our suppliers have to meet strict requirements regarding sustainability and quality. In this article we focus specifically on PEFC; what does PEFC stand for and how can this internationally recognized certification be obtained? 

Sometimes it looks like the amount of festivals keeps increasing every year. There is something to do every weekend and we also don’t stop in the winter season anymore. Great for the ones that like to go to a party, but it also has an enormous impact on the environment. More and more festival organisations and event management agencies are aware of this and take measures to make their event more sustainable. Usually this happens with some standard solutions, which has some but little impact on the amount of used energy or the amount of waste. Sometimes, the ideas are a lot more original yet simple and they improve the sustainability and increase the awareness.