BASF’s biopolymer ecovio® supports online food delivery platform Ele.me at the 4th Taobao Maker Festival
- Paper bowls and cups coated with ecovio® PS 1606 can resist oil and temperature up to 100°C, ensuring the food inside remains safe
- Certified compostable food containers made of ecovio will facilitate segregated organic waste collection and composting in the future
Hangzhou, China – September 12, 2019 – At the 4th Taobao Maker Festival September 12 - 25, 2019, Ele.me, Alibaba’s food delivery platform, will serve food and drinks in paper bowls and cups coated with a thin layer of BASF’s certified compostable ecovio® PS 1606. In the future, these bowls and cups can be composted together with separately collected food waste in industrial composting plants. The resulting compost provides Chinese agricultural soil with valuable nutrients and helps fight soil erosion.
“We’re excited to work with Ele.me to provide paper bowls and cups coated with ecovio during the festival. The outstanding sustainability features of the products are in line with the event’s theme ‘creativity’. With ecovio, we can contribute to a circular economy in China, by enabling in the future a separate collection of food wastes together with compostable bowls,” said Amir Pourirani, Head of Global Marketing Biopolymers, BASF.In China, 46 cities plan to introduce separate organic waste collection in 2020.
The ecovio-coated bowls and cups can be composted directly after use with separately collected food wastes in an industrial composting facility. ecovio is biodegraded by microorganisms and their enzymes, leaving only water, carbon dioxide and biomass. This helps to close the loop on food waste, ensuring that precious nutrients are returned to the soil to enter the food cycle again.
Unlike paper food containers made from PLA (polylactic acid), bowls and cups coated with ecovio are resistant to oil and temperature up to 100°C. It is therefore especially suitable for holding Chinese food which is often hot and oily. In addition, the coated bowls and cups have passed the stringent tests set by the Shanghai Institute of Quality Inspection and Technical Research and received certification for food contact and online catering services.
The Taobao Maker Festival, one of the significant events Alibaba holds each year, celebrates the creativity of Taobao merchants, especially the young generation. The online platforms, Taobao and Ele.me, are owned by the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group.
For more information please visit www.ecovio.basf.com.
About BASF’s Performance Materials division
BASF’s Performance Materials division encompasses the entire materials’ know-how of BASF regarding innovative, customized plastics under one roof. Globally active in four major industry sectors – transportation, construction, industrial applications, and consumer goods – the division has a strong portfolio of products and services combined with a deep understanding of application-oriented system solutions. Key drivers of profitability and growth are our close collaboration with customers and a clear focus on solutions. Strong capabilities in R&D provide the basis to develop innovative products and applications. In 2018, the Performance Materials division achieved global sales of €7.65 bn. More information online: www.plastics.basf.com.
About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 122,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of around €63 billion in 2018. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the U.S. Further information at www.basf.com.
