and that company's bioplastics to reduce the environmental impact of as-yet unidentified packaging. The scale of the agreement also is not being made public. Cardia recently announced plans to expand its production site in China.

It took a week but we finally caught up with the busy Anne Roulin, Nestlé's global director of packaging. In answer to questions from Plasticstoday.com, Roulin told us that her company is testing the materials in a range of applications but mainly in rigid plastics packaging. She would not offer further details on the scale of the agreement except to confirm that there is a signed one between the companies.  

Once Nestlé completes it tests, Roulin said that the packaging made from Cardia's materials will be processed for the main part by the brand owner's packaging suppliers and not via captive processing.

The plastics supplier's managing director, Frank Glatz, said, "Collaborating with Nestlé presents an exciting opportunity to develop high performance packaging with lower environmental impact...Our proprietary multi-layer flexible film and rigid packaging developments are important offerings in meeting demanding packaging performance requirements."
 
Cardia supplies compounds called Cardia Biohybrid that are based on a blend of thermoplastic starch with standard thermoplastics, as well as a compostable plastic. Grades are offered for flexible film extrusion, injection and blowmolding, foam, and coating applications. Cardia Compostable B-F, a grade for blown film extrusion, is a biodegradable and compostable resin based on a blend of thermoplastic starch (TPS), biodegradable polyesters and natural plasticizers.