Collaboration between Metabolix, a specialist in the use of bioscience to provide sustainable and clean solutions for plastics, and ADM, bio-energy company and agricultural processor, has led to the development of Mirel Natural Plastics. This is a family of high performance natural plastics that are bio-based, sustainable and claimed to be the world's first completely biodegradable plastic.
The companies' are commercialising the new advance through Telles, a joint venture named after the Roman goddess of the Earth. The first production plant is being built in Iowa, US and is expected to produce 110 pounds of Mirel when operational in 2008.
Mirel is developed from natural resources like corn sugar that provides an alternative to traditional, oil-based plastics with the benefit of biodegrading back into nature in environments including soil, compost, rivers and oceans.
Over 350 billion pounds of plastic is produced each year and almost 10% of US oil consumption is used in plastics production. The negative effects of this include greenhouse gas emissions and the impact of non-biodegradable plastics on the global ecosystem.