Renewable & Biodegradable Materials

With petroleum being a non-renewable resource, and the main ingredient for most plastics, we at Spartech are continually looking for materials that are derived from renewable resources such as corn.

The main target markets for these materials are applications that are single use or limited use such as packaging materials, disposable cups and tableware, gift and phone cards, and plant tags.

Our first entrée into such materials has been starch-based resins and PLA which has been developed by Nature Works LLC.

As increasingly more R&D dollars within the plastics industry are invested in plastics that are derived from renewable resources and/or are degradable, Spartech continues to investigate, develop, and test these materials for various applications. We are additionally increasing our capabilities of producing quality extruded sheet utilizing these materials.

(PLA) Rejuven8™ is a sheet & rollstock material produced from NatureWorks™ PLA. PLA or Polylactide is a corn based material made from lactic acid derived from dextrose by fermentation of corn. The material offers great thermoforming, clarity and die-cutting characteristics in addition to R.F sealing and printing capabilities. is very well suited for prepackaged salad tray, drinking cup, and tableware applications. An additional side benefit of PLA is that it is biodegradable through conventional composting practices.
(PLA Alloys) For applications requiring higher impact resistance or higher heat distortion temperatures, we have developed a family of PLA Alloys we call Rejuven8™Plus. Such applications include consumer packaging, gift and phone cards, and plant tags. has similar impact properties to PET. In addition, it can be made to be stable in temperatures well over 200°F.
Degradable Materials Degradable plastic additives are another area which we at Spartech are investigating to pursue environmental material solutions. We are testing various new materials and conducting formal testing to prove the effectiveness of degradation of these materials before commercializing them.
NatureWorks and the EcoPLA Design are registered trademarks of NatureWorks LLC.