Sustainable packaging made from plants is set to play a major role at the London Olympics, with fast food chain McDonald’s, which will be running the largest food outlet at the games, using Novamont’s Mater-Bi bioplastics for its cups, cutlery, straws, lids and containers.

McDonald’s says its products were already compliant with the EN13432 compostability standards but did not have the certification, but it has worked towards this end over the past two years.

Italy-based Novamont says its Mater-Bi will compost with anaerobic digestion, allowing the expected 3,300 tonnes of food and food-related packaging waste that the games will generate easier to handle than conventional materials.

The London event is dedicated to becoming the first ever zero waste Games and bioeconomy consultants NNFCC have been advising the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) on the best solutions to achieve this goal.

This resulted in the decision to use food packaging made from plant starch and cellulose at the games, with LOCOG targeting 70% of the waste produced by the events to be recycled, re-used or composted.

US firm Huntsman Corp. has acquired the remaining stake of Huntsman NMG, its Russian PU joint venture with NMG, the manufacturer of PU in Russia and other areas of the former Soviet Union.

Shanghai Sinopec Mitsui Elastomers, a 50:50 joint-venture between Chinese firm Sinopec and Japan-based Mitsui Chemicals, will build an ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPT) production plant in Shanghai Chemical Industry Park

Swiss speciality chemicals group Clariant is acquiring the remaining 40% share of a joint venture between Alvigo and Chemie.

Belgian firm Solvay has started up its EUR21 million speciality polymers compounding plant at Changshu, targeting the electronics, automotive, consumer and industrial applications markets.

German automotive Tier 1 supplier Faurecia has opened a major R&D centre in Pune, India. Employing 800 automotive engineers, the facility will serve interior systems, automotive seating and automotive exteriors.

US international aerospace and industrial manufacturing and service provider Barnes Group will acquire privately held hot runner maker Synventive Molding Solutions for US$335 million.

US firms Bermis has tied up with Norwegian Thin Film Electronics to develop the Bemis Intelligent Packaging Platform for the commercial development of functional sensor labels manufactured from new and emerging printed electronic technology made from Thin Film’s propriety read/writable printed memory and programme logic

Not only did German robot maker Krauss-Maffei Automation celebrate its 30th anniversary since its foundation, it also marked it with its 1,000th robot delivery from the “robot wharf” of its branch in Schwerin.