The Bioplastics Award is organized and presented by bioplastics Magazine. The conference is organized by the European Bioplastics trade group, which is not affiliated with the magazine but offers its event as the natural setting for the award's presentation.

All product or services submitted for the award must have been developed or launched on the market in 2010 or 2011 to be eligible for consideration.

The following companies and applications are in the running for this year's award:

* Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients (LCI)  - BioSac, the first biodegradable and compostable packaging for the cement industry, made from kraft paper and LCI's biolice product. Biolice is produced using whole cereal grains from a number of Limagrain varieties of maize. The product's innovation lies in the combination of cereal fractions with a biodegradable polymer. BioSac conforms to the EN 13432 standard for packaging recoverable by biodegradation and composting.

* M-Base and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Hanover, Germany - the Biopolymer Database. M-Base Engineering + Software GmbH, working with the Biopolymer Institute of the Hanover university, have developed a new biopolymer database containing technical information on the processing and utilization behavior of biopolymers. The database is available via the Internet in German and English. Access is free of charge at http://www.materialdatacenter.com.

* Beaulieu Technical Textiles: Ökolys - The first woven biodegradable and compostable agro textile, Ökolys is a new sustainable range of woven groundcovers. Manufactured from a tailored blend of two biopolymers, one biodegradable and one compostable, the Ökolys groundcover offers an environmentally friendly weed control solution, eliminating the need for herbicides and manual maintenance, while preventing erosion. Made of renewable primary materials, Ökolys returns to the organic chain at the end of life, closing the carbon cycle.

* Danone Germany and Switzerland - With the launch of Activia and Actimel dairy products in bioplastics packaging, Danone has contributed to establishing the use of bioplastics in mass-market product applications.

* The Coca-Cola Company - PlantBottle packaging from the Coca-Cola Company is the first ever fully recyclable plastic beverage bottle made partially from plants. According to Coca-Cola, it ' looks, feels and functions just like traditional PET, but it does so with a lighter footprint on the planet and its scarce resources'. (Click the link to read more on this bottle, and on Coca-Cola's and PepsiCo's plans for bioplastics.)

At the 6th European Bioplastics Conference, one of the keynotes will be given by Maurits van Tol, VP for bio-based chemicals and polymers at DSM, whose presentation will focus on the opportunities for biobased polymers worldwide. Other large suppliers presenting ill include Dow, Rhein Chemie and Avantium.

"We are confident to satisfy every participants' demand for exchanging and gaining information at the 6th European Bioplastics Conference. There will be ample opportunities to initiate cooperations and to network", says Andy Sweetman, chairman of European Bioplastics.

"We aim to set a new attendance record with 400+ participants in 2011", adds Hasso von Pogrell, managing director of European Bioplastics. More information on the event is available at its website.