SPECIALTY chemical firm D&L Industries Inc. said it is looking at specialty plastics, particularly biodegradable plastics, to boost the growth in its export and domestic sales.
D&L EVP and CFO Alvin Lao said the growing awareness has given rise to demand for a wide range of biodegradable plastics not just limited to shopping bags.
“We are developing biodegradable plastics for a wide range of applications,” said Lao, adding that these include films for packaging and agriculture, as well as more rigid plastic materials used in the manufacture of household appliances.
As of September last year, 17 percent of its revenues came from specialty plastics, and half of that is plastic used for automotive wire harness.
“We are looking at Japan for biodegradable plastics. There is a high demand for biodegradable plastics in Japan. For this year, we will finalize the formulation and do the market test to clients there, also in Italy,” he said.
While these will not have immediate effect on D&L’s revenues, Lao said there is a great potential for demand overseas.
For the domestic market, Lao said there is also a need for biodegradable plastics, as local government units (LGUs) are now banning plastic bags.
While many local government units have responded by banning the use of plastic-packaging products, many consumers are finding the use of paper bags since these cannot be used for wet products.
“The only way to make paper products stronger is to add wax,” Lao said, adding that wax is not biodegradable and increases the cost of paper packaging.
Lao said biodegradable plastic is just as strong as regular plastic bags. It is also cheaper than paper bags and has less environmental impact, as it does not require the cutting of trees.
Lao said there is no unified rule yet on the use of biodegradable plastics; thus, some LGUs totally ban all plastics, while some LGUs allow the use of biodegradable plastic.
Over the longer term, Lao said D&L will focus on increasing collaboration with global players in various industries, which today include wire harness.
Its unit D&L Polymer and Colours Inc. has recently signed an original equipment-manufacturing agreement with Japan’s chemical engineering company Showa Denko KK for the manufacture of a compound that makes plastics biodegradable.
D&L said Bionolle Starcla is a starch-based material that is fully biodegradable and compostable. Plastic films produced with Bionolle Starcla fully decompose into water and carbon dioxide when exposed to soil, freshwater, seawater, compost, landfill and activated sludge. Full decomposition is expected within 30 to 60 days once exposed to microorganisms.