Bioplastics are in first place for the London Olympics

Organizers have decided that compostable materials, such as starch and cellulose derived bioplastics will be widespread in food packaging at the 2012 London Olympics. It is estimated that 3,300 tonnes of tood packaging waste will be created during the Olympics; John Williams, Head of Materials and Energy at the NNFCC (National Non-Food Crops Centre) claims that this gives “a unique opportunity to showcase the benefits of using compostable packaging, particularly for food, and recovering its stored energy at end-of-life using anaerobic digestion.” The NNFCC has been working closely with organizers to minimize the amount of waste that goes to landfill after the Games; setting a target for at least 70% of waste to be recycled. “Using renewable materials at the Olympics is a great way to demonstrate to the public how seriously the packaging industry is taking sustainability,” says Andy Sweetman, Chairman of the European Bioplastics Association.