The Chinese subsidiary of Australian biodegradable and renewable resins producer Cardia Bioplastics (Melbourne; www.cardiabioplastics.com) has landed a EUR 198,000 contract to supply renewable household kitchen waste bags to 60,000 households within Nanjing / China. Limited to a period of six months initially, Cardia will supply the Nanjing government with about 10m bags made from its “Biohybrid” products that contain less oil and have a lower carbon footprint than conventional plastics. Specifically, the company’s proprietary technology combines renewable thermoplastics with PE material.

If the contract is extended following the six months trial, it could cover a larger radius of Nanjing households. Jackie Chen, who heads Cardia’s operations in China, also said the company is in talks with other local governments in China to put in place similar agreements. China enacted new packaging regulations in June 2008 that call for increasing the amount of renewable biodegradable and compostable plastics – for a detailed overview of the Chinese bioplastics scene and related regulations, see Plasteurope.com of 02.12.2011.

This is the Australian company’s latest bioplastics venture in China, following Cardia’s involvement in securing the bioplastics supply at the Beijing Olympics and during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo trade fair. Cardia operates a global applications development centre at its headquarters in Melbourne and a product development centre and resins production plant in Nanjing / China.