The Technology

TDPA™

Traditional plastics are particularly versatile and durable materials. Their physical and barrier properties are the reasons for their huge success in all sorts of applications in our everyday lives. However, those same properties are responsible for the menace that plastic pollution causes all across the globe when they are discarded after their useful life. This includes huge volumes of plastic waste that remain and clog our landfills causing diseases, that are a threat to animal and sea life and that create havoc for certain agricultural crop farmers.

The GEPI product range features the technologically superior EPI® TDPA® additives in the production of such items as shopping bags, food bags, produce bags, refuse sacks for commercial and domestic use, food trays, cutlery (forks, knives and spoons), cups, drinking straws, egg cartons, fast food containers, meat trays, packaging products, salad trays, sandwich containers, banana sleeves, banana box liners, garment covers, cling film, stretch wrap and pallet wrap, among many others. These items can be custom printed to include branding with company logos, text and imaging. Advertising print options range from single colour to full colour photographic quality.

How It Works

EPI is the pioneer of TDPA™ proprietary oxo-biodegradable plastic additives. This technology has been designed to control and manage the lifetime of products made from the most common plastics used by modern society polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS). Products made from these polymers and TDPA™ can be pre programmed to have a finite life or service cycle to meet specific customer needs. They will degrade and, in most cases biodegrade, when discarded, into environmentally benign products within a few months to a few years. This compares to decades or longer for the same products made without the benefit of the technology.

The chemical degradation process involves the reaction of very large polymer molecules of plastics, which contain only carbon and hydrogen, with oxygen in the air. This reaction occurs even without prodegradant additives but at a very slow rate. That is why conventional plastics, when discarded, persist for a long time in the environment. EPI’s TDPA™ formulations catalyze or accelerate this reaction and increase the rate of the degradation by several orders of magnitude – i.e. 100’s to 1000’s of times faster, making TDPA™ incorporated products degrade and physically disintegrate within a few weeks to 1-2 years, depending on the formulation and the disposal environment. To illustrate, a TDPA™ incorporated plastic bag and a conventional plastic bag were hung on the fence and the difference in degradation rates was observed in the degradation test.

These lower molecular weight fragments are known to, and have been shown, in laboratory simulated composts, to biodegrade into carbon dioxide, water and biomass (cell structure components of micro-organisms), which are materials found in nature and are part of the biocycle.

The chemistry described above has been well known to polymer scientists for years. Indeed manufacturers of polymer resins routinely add antioxidant chemicals to their products to prevent any oxidation during thermal processing into products. EPI’s contribution lies in its ability balance the effect of its catalytic additives with the effect of contained antioxidants in order to make products that perform predictably in accordance with their application during their useful life and in their disposal environment.

Food Contact Compliance

USA – FDA: The components of EPI’s TDPA™ additives are either listed in FDA's food additive regulations as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) or have been subjected to testing to ensure that they are within acceptable limits for migration into the foods that are in contact with plastic packaging containing these additives. Based on this testing, these additives have been deemed to comply with the Federal, Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and all applicable food additive regulations.

EU – EFSA: TDPA™ additives may be used in plastic food packaging in Europe since they comply with relevant EU and Member State legislation applicable to food-contact materials. Most of the components of TDPA™ additives may be used in contact with food with no restrictions. Some are subjected to specific migration limits (SML) and these have been shown by relevant testing to comply fully with the requirements of the Frame Work Directive (Directive 89/109/EEC) and the Plastics Directive (2002/72/EC).

CA – CFIA: Products sold in Canada for direct food contact applications have to be approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). For each application incorporating TDPA™, end-product manufacturers are required to get approval from CFIA before it can be used for direct food contact.

Features and Benefits

Programmable Useful Life
The shelf life and service life of B2N® Back 2 Nature degradable and biodegradable plastic products incorporating TDPA™ can be preset according to customer requirements, ranging from a few months to years.

Performance
Products incorporating TDPA™ maintain the physical properties and performance characteristics of conventional plastic and are indistinguishable in look and texture.

Cost
B2N® Back 2 Nature TDPA™ incorporated products are competitively priced versus conventional plastics and their adoption into inventory management systems is practical and seamless. They are by far the most economically viable environmental packaging solution.

Availability
B2N® Back 2 Nature can be supplied to any part of the world using our growing network of licensed manufacturers. Many different product types are available to choose from.

Reusable & Recyclable
Products incorporating TDPA™ additives, prior to the onset of degradation, can be reused and are compatible with existing recycling streams.

Degradable & Biodegradable
B2N® Back 2 Nature TDPA™ incorporated products degrade, disintegrate and biodegrade without leaving plastic fragments.

Food Safe
Products made using TDPA™ technology are non-toxic and safe for direct food contact applications.

Non-ecotoxic
TDPA™ incorporated products produce no harmful residue during or after biodegradation.

Commercialized
TDPA™ incorporated plastic products are gaining popularity in Europe, USA, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean.

EPI is the pioneer of TDPA™ proprietary oxo-biodegradable plastic additives. This technology has been designed to control and manage the lifetime of products made from the most common plastics used by modern society polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS). Products made from these polymers and TDPA™ can be pre programmed to have a finite life or service cycle to meet specific customer needs. They will degrade and, in most cases biodegrade, when discarded, into environmentally benign products within a few months to a few years. This compares to decades or longer for the same products made without the benefit of the technology.