Japan's Central Chemical Supplies Egg Packaging and Sealing Made of Bioplastics

From June 21, 2006, Japan's Central Chemicals supplied Uny Co., which operates supermarkets and other businesses, with eggs and seals made of bio-plastics. The main ingredient of the package is polylactic acid. It has the same transparency and strength as the original package made of PET resin. Uny is scheduled to use about 4 million a year, and about 70 tons in terms of resin consumption.

To satisfy the growing demand for bio-plastic products, Central Chemical Co., Ltd. has equipped bio-plastic special sheet production equipment at the Saisai Plant (Kaisaicho, Saitama Prefecture), and established a one-stop production system from sheet production to molding. The monthly production capacity of the equipment is about 250 tons. It has been put into production since June 2006.

In the future, the company will develop products based on transparent containers for fruit and non-staple foods. But also plans to put into heat-resistant containers. In general, bioplastics have the disadvantage of poor heat resistance compared to the original resins. This time, it has taken corresponding measures in terms of logistics. For example, in summer transportation, corrugated cartons will be used to cope with the increase in interior temperature. The company has now developed a high-heat-resistant container, which was used as a container for tasting at the "Aibobo (Aichi World Expo)" held in 2005.

Source: Nikkei BP