Biodegradable Approach to Fast Food

Alcoa KAMA has decided to make plastic sheet for food service packaging using Cereplast's starch-based, biodegradable resins. It plans to start making the biodegradable sheet in the fourth quarter of 2007 for sale in commercial rolls, a spokesperson for the company said. The source also said that sheet production could eventually surpass 1 million pounds per year, depending on demand. Some U.S. municipalities, including two California cities, have banned the use of polystyrene-based packaging products by food vendors, leading food service suppliers to look for alternative packaging. Cereplast said its resins completely break down in compost. Cereplast's renewable plastics are not fossil-fuel based and can be used in converting processes such as injection molding, thermoforming, blow molding, and extrusion. "Working together [with Cereplast], we have created an environmental solution for disposable plastics that is part of the leading edge and competitive edge of sustainable plastics," said Juan Lopez of Alcoa KAMA.