• Innovation projects in compostable materials will be showcased, such as bottles for gel and shampoo in personal care, cutlery for ice cream or the innovative BioLoop Band, a new development that will mainly benefit the food, agricultural and consumer goods industry, as well as many other sustainable products

• Italy is at the forefront of Europe in sustainability with an ambitious regulation on compostable bioplastics, banning non-compostable bags, allowing single-use products if they are certified biodegradable and offering tax incentives to encourage their development and implementation

ADBioplastics, a Spanish manufacturer of advanced and compostable additives and bioplastics, will present its latest solutions in sustainable and competitive alternatives for the plastics industry, manufactured with its compostable bioplastic PLA-Premium, for various industries that are demanding green solutions such as food, cosmetics, agriculture or consumer goods, among others, at the Greenplast 2025 trade fair, which will take place from May 27 to 30 in Milan, Italy.

During this event, held in conjunction with the IPACK-IMA, Print4All and Intralogistica Italia trade fairs, ADBioplastics will have an exhibition space for these solutions, specifically booth A12 in Hall 14 of the Milan Fair.

Bio-based and compostable products as a sustainable alternative to fossil plastics

Among the latest case studies to be exhibited is the joint project with Nua Cosmetics, Provei Global and ITC Packaging in the development of a bio-based and compostable bottle for baby shower gel and shampoo, a 500 ml product with a dispensing cap made of PLA-Premium bioplastic, a more sustainable option to PET bottles that not only takes care of the little ones, but also of the planet.

Another of the innovative products to be shown at the ADBioplastics exhibition space is compostable cutlery for food, mainly for the ice cream industry, a project that solves one of the major problems of single-use spoons or forks that, due to their size and use, hinder the recycling system or are not recycled correctly, contaminating the environment. This single-use cutlery is suitable for food contact and allows organic recycling at the end of the product’s useful life.

Finally, one of the most outstanding innovations to be presented will be the BioLoop Band, a new type of filament used as a twistband closure (a flexible wire, usually made of steel or aluminum, coated with a plastic layer, used to securely close various products). This development was first shown at the U.S. NPE show and aims to transform the use of single-use closures in sectors such as food, agriculture and consumer goods.

This new filament emerges as a sustainable alternative to traditional twistband closures, either with or without metal core, made of materials such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or LDPE (low density polyethylene), commonly used to close products such as sliced bread or toy packaging, cables, extension cords and other household or electronic products. In the agricultural field, it is used for the trellising of horticultural and fruit crops, favoring the guidance of plants in systems such as Guyot pruning, widely used in viticulture for grape production. The mixed structure of conventional closures makes them difficult to recycle and generates a negative environmental impact due to their composition and small size.

In contrast, BioLoop Band is made from PLA-Premium, a bioplastic that provides environmental and functional advantages. Its main benefits include: a reduction of up to 55% in the use of material compared to traditional closures with a metal core, its compostability (it can be disposed of with organic waste), respect for soil fertility, its ability to elongate with heat (which facilitates plant growth without damaging it), and its resistance to both impact and torsion, allowing its repeated use in closure processes.

Sustainable commitment and international collaboration drive

Alongside its latest innovations, ADBioplastics will showcase a wide variety of products from its portfolio, including 3D printed parts, packaging such as bottles and jars, candle holders, single-dose formats for cosmetics, flexible flowpacks, clamshells, closures, and plastic films with different characteristics and thicknesses. These developments respond to the growing demands for sustainability in industries such as food, cosmetics, agriculture, medicine, 3D printing, textiles and consumer goods.

In the emerging additive manufacturing sector, PLA-Premium is setting a new stage in the development of biomaterials thanks to its excellent performance in terms of both flowability and mechanical strength. Special grades of PLA-Premium allow it to be blended with plant or mineral fibres, resulting in high-performance bio-based filaments.

All products using PLA-Premium are both compostable and bio-based, and show significant improvements over pure PLA, especially in terms of physical properties and ease of processing. This material is obtained from renewable resources such as corn or sugar cane and can disintegrate in less than three months under industrial composting conditions, which is endorsed by the OK Compost Industrial certification issued by TÜV Austria.

These solutions are fully in line with international sustainability policies. In Italy, one of the most advanced countries in regulating compostable materials, the government is actively promoting biotechnology and bio-manufacturing with the aim of replacing up to 90% of fossil plastics in two decades. Since 2018, it bans non-compostable lightweight plastic bags, allows single-use products if they are made from certified compostable materials, and offers tax incentives to companies that develop or use sustainable bioplastics. Italy, in fact, has already exceeded its 2030 recycling targets for compostable bioplastics.