Bamberger distributing sustainable biomaterials

Bamberger Polymers recently began distributing sustainable biomaterials made by NatureWorks.

In a news release, officials with Bamberger in Jericho, N.Y., said that the partnership "marks a significant step forward in addressing the growing demand for environmentally responsible materials."

They added that Bamberger's customers in several key markets have shown demand for bio-based materials like NatureWorks PLA resin. The material is used in food packaging and food serviceware like cups, trays, lids, straws and cutlery to film solutions for yard waste, produce bags and mulch films.

"As the world's largest manufacturer of PLA, NatureWorks will help to provide Bamberger's clientele with the low-carbon, sustainable solutions they are seeking," officials said.

Blair, Neb.-based NatureWorks "has been a pioneer in the bio-based materials space for over 30 years," Bamberger President Dennis Nielsen said. He added that his firm "will be proud to represent their Ingeo (brand) product line to plastics processors in the U.S. and Canada to provide sustainable solutions for our customers."

Bamberger product manager Aaron Fredericks said that Bamberger "is happy to be able to offer a multi-pronged approach, with both post-consumer/post-industrial offerings and now a 100 percent bio-based material for biodegradability, compostability and reduction of CO2 footprint."

NatureWorks operates 330 million pounds of annual PLA production capacity in Blair, with plans to add another 150 million through a facility being built in Thailand. NatureWorks product director Dan Sawyer said that by partnering with Bamberger, his firm "is extending our market reach to meet the evolving demands of Ingeo customers in the U.S and Canada by leveraging Bamberger's strong market channel access with a number of converters, OEMs, and brand owners."

Bamberger distributes more than 1.5 billion pounds of bulk and packaged resins annually. The firm's portfolio includes commodity and engineering resins, both branded and private label.