GOEX Goes Biodegradable
So You Can, Too
Dealing with Plastic Waste Today
Most people would agree recycling is the preferred way to deal with plastics, but while 62 percent of paperboard is recovered, only 9 percent of plastic is. The vast majority still ends up in landfills and remains there indefinitely. Plastic in municipal solid waste has increased from 1 percent in 1960 to 12 percent in 2009. That 12 percent equals about 30 million tons. At this rate, we run the risk of running out of room and options.
“With limited space for landfills, we need to invest in technologies that enhance the biodegradation of plastics in landfills. Then we reduce the amount of landfill space required for plastic products,” said James Rooney, President of EcoLogic LLC.
Now there is a solution, and GOEX is part of it. Through a partnership with EcoLogic, a maker of environmentally responsible solutions for plastics globally, GOEX now offers organic Eco-One™ additives in extruded plastic sheet and roll stock products.
More Life for Landfills
The Eco-One brand of additives from EcoLogic enhances biodegradation of plastic products in biologically active landfills. This increases the life of a landfill by reducing millions of tons of plastic that would otherwise sit for years. “The solution deals with the landscape as it is today, not how we hope it to be in 10 or 15 years,” said Bob Waddell, VP Sales & Marketing for GOEX.
The Eco-One additive is finding its way into all kinds of things: running shoes and sandals; foodservice products like cups, bowls and cutlery; protective foam packaging; Whole Foods food packaging; plastic shopping bags; film products for packaging medical applications; and apparel.
A Partnership and a Vision
“We have completed an exclusive partnership that no one else in industry can replicate. We have worked with EcoLogic for the past year to launch a line of biodegradable products incorporating Eco-One technology,” said Waddell. “This new line of products reinforces our commitment to the environment. It perfectly complements our ongoing plastics recycling initiatives.”
EcoLogic and GOEX worked side by side for a year to identify target applications and customers to trial and test the Eco-One line. “To date we have successfully run in a number of resins and have achieved favorable performance testing and biodegradation testing,” Rooney said. Eco-One differs from other biodegradability additives because it is backed by scientific evidence and certification of how much degradation occurs.
“GOEX has an excellent reputation in the plastics industry for being on the cutting edge of technology and environmental stewardship,” said Rooney. “This partnership illustrates Eco-One’s performance characteristics as it relates to a number of plastic resins used in a wide variety of applications.”