Metabolix Garners Environmental Award from Society of Plastics Engineers
Cambridge, MA - Metabolix, Inc. has received the prestigious "New Technologies in Renewable Materials and Processes Award" from the Society of Plastics Engineers for its development of an environmentally friendly family of PHA Natural Plastics produced by fermentation. The award, given at a ceremony as part of the Society's Global Plastics Environmental Conference in March, recognizes strong technical innovation and demonstrated leadership in the areas of plastics and the environment. Metabolix was cited for its "unique and patented methods" to make and commercialize its family of polymers "from renewable resources such as sugars and vegetable oils."
Metabolix's pathbreaking technology produces Natural Plastics that are significant, new, biobased, sustainable, and high-performing materials offering the unique ability to biodegrade benignly under a range of conditions from hot or cold composting to municipal waste treatment and septic systems and even in fresh and marine water. These new Natural Plastics promise a dramatic reduction in the billions of pounds of unrecoverable or persistent plastic waste found in plastic items such as packaging and disposable food service items which are now made or coated with petrochemical plastics that persist for hundreds to thousands of years in the environment. In addition, they offer a solution for global plastics management as demand for petroleum increases and the volume of plastic waste becomes increasingly problematic.
"Consumers and users now have a practical alternative," said Jim Barber, president and CEO of Metabolix. "We have confronted directly the negative impacts of persistent petrochemical plastics on the environment and dependence on volatile, non-renewable resources from unstable regions. To receive this award from an industry group that has been deeply involved with developing applications for traditional plastics is especially gratifying. We're pleased to receive SPE's recognition for environmental responsibility."
The award points to the significance of these materials in fostering the development of new markets that will generate economic value without harming the environment. Metabolix Natural Plastics can be used as alternatives to petrochemical plastics in a wide variety of applications, including coated paper, film or bags, and thermoformed and molded goods. They are produced using a fully biological fermentation process that converts agricultural raw materials such as corn sugar into a versatile range of plastics with excellent durability in use but that also biodegrade benignly. Metabolix and Archer Daniels Midland Company recently announced plans to build a 50,000 ton commercial plant for its PHA Natural Plastics in Clinton, Iowa, with start-up targeted in 2008.
Metabolix is also working on a second technology platform that will co-produce its Natural Plastics directly in non-food crop plants such as switchgrass, with the associated biomass being used for energy production after the plastic is extracted.
About Metabolix
Founded in 1992, Metabolix, Inc. uses sophisticated biotechnology to produce environmentally friendly performance materials from renewable resources. Metabolix is a world leader in applying the advanced tools of metabolic engineering and molecular biology to efficiently produce PHA biobased natural plastics in microbial systems and directly in non-food plant crops. For more information, please visit www.metabolix.com.
Contact information:
For Metabolix:
James J. Barber
President & CEO
(617) 492-0505 x225
barber@metabolix.com
www.metabolix.com
Thomas G. Auchincloss
Chief Financial Officer
(617) 492-0505 x221
auchincloss@metabolix.com
www.metabolix.com
