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Bangkok – 25 February 2026: Marking the first-ever collaboration of three industry leaders, Taokaenoi Food & Marketing Public Company Limited, or TKN, a manufacturer of seaweed snacks distributed domestically and internationally, SCG Chemicals, or SCGC, a leading integrated polymer and solutions provider for sustainability, and Dow Thailand Group, or Dow, a global leader in materials science, have jointly announced the signing of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to revolutionize the snack industry through the “Food-Grade Circular Packaging by Advanced Recycling Technology” project. This initiative aims to sustainably address plastic waste challenges under the concept of closed-loop recycling. This collaboration entails utilizing multi-layer packaging waste from the production processes of Taokaenoi, which was previously difficult to recycle. This waste will be processed using the advanced recycling technology of SCGC and converted back into circular feedstock. Following this, Dow will utilize the feedstock to produce new, clean, and food-grade plastic resins. These resins will then be safely used to manufacture food packaging for the Taokaenoi brand once again. It is anticipated that the packaging will be ready for commercial distribution by the end of 2026. Ms. Orrapat Peeradechapan, Chief Executive Officer of Taokaenoi Food & Marketing Public Company Limited, said, “Taokaenoi is committed to creating happiness for consumers through high-quality snacks, alongside prioritizing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles by emphasizing sustainable economic, social, and environmental development. This collaboration represents a significant milestone that transforms the ‘challenge’ of hard-to-recycle packaging into an ‘opportunity’ to establish a practical circular economy. It is not merely about waste disposal, but rather about creating new value from used plastic. We do not only deliver great-tasting products, but we also aim to deliver a better world to consumers through eco-friendly packaging innovations that are clean, safe, and tangibly reduce environmental impacts. This will drive our business to grow alongside genuine sustainability.” Dr. Suracha Udomsak, Chief Operations and Innovation Officer of SCGC, said, “This collaboration reflects the capability of SCGC in utilizing advanced recycling technology to manage plastic packaging composed of multiple materials, which is difficult to recycle, and converting it back into circular feedstock. This feedstock can be used to produce new plastic resins (Certified Circular Polyolefin Resin), which possess properties and quality entirely equivalent to standard virgin plastic resins in all respects and are safe for direct food contact. As a result, the materials can be reused to manufacture food packaging for Taokaenoi. In addition, our process has achieved the globally recognized sustainability certification, ISCC PLUS (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification), throughout the entire supply chain, making SCGC the first company in ASEAN to achieve such certification. This partnership is considered a crucial step in driving SCGC’s goal of reintegrating used plastic into the circular economy system at a volume of 500,000 tons per year by 2030, through collaborations with business partners across the entire value chain.” Meanwhile, Mr. Vichan Tangkengsirisin, President of Dow Thailand, added, “As a materials science leader, Dow is proud to support this collaboration in Thailand by applying our technology to produce circular plastic resins from used flexible packaging feedstock with performance equivalent to fossil-based plastics. Dow Thailand Group’s polyethylene facility in Rayong is ISCC PLUS certified for its capability of converting advanced recycled feedstock into high quality, food grade circular resins. This initiative represents an important step toward closing the plastics loop in Thailand and advancing Dow’s sustainability ambition to transform the waste through collaboration with customers and value chain partners.” This collaboration serves as a model for the comprehensive management of used multi-layer plastic packaging. It reduces the accumulation of plastic waste in the country and decreases the consumption of new resources. This aligns with the sustainability goals of Taokaenoi, SCGC, and Dow, reinforcing the role of the business sector in tangibly driving the circular economy to build a sustainable future together.

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BASF is expanding its Biopolymers portfolio by introducing biomass-balanced ecoflex® (PBAT)

12 June 2024 – BASF is now offering the packaging industry a way to increase the use of renewable feedstocks: It is expanding its portfolio of certified compostable biopolymers to include a biomass-balanced ecoflex®, a polybutylene adipate terephthalate that is frequently used in the compounding of biopolymers. For the new ecoflex® F Blend C1200 BMB, the fossil raw materials that are usually used in the production process are replaced with renewable feedstock at the beginning of the value chain. The renewable feedstock comes from waste and residual biomass and is attributed to the ecoflex® grade via a mass balance approach which is certified according to REDcert2 and ISCC PLUS (1). The biomass-balanced ecoflex® not only contributes to reducing the use of fossil resources, but it also offers a 60% lower Product Carbon Footprint (2) than the standard ecoflex® F Blend C1200.

Certified compostable products based on PBAT compounds help create a circular economy by supporting the collection and recycling of organic waste. However, in the production of PBAT, it is not yet possible to fully avoid the usage of fossil resources. With ecoflex® BMB, BASF closes this gap and offers a solution that is organically recyclable at the end of life: In addition, its fossil feedstock is completely replaced with renewable raw materials at the very beginning of the production process. BASF is thus taking another step towards closing the biological loop of circular economy.

ecoflex® BMB enables customers in the packaging industry to contribute to the reduction of fossil resource consumption and differentiate their products without compromising on performance and quality, or the need for extra investment into new processing lines: The BASF PBAT is identical to the conventional grade in properties, quality, and certification. As a result, customers do not need to re-qualify their applications made of ecoflex® BMB, reformulate the compounds or adapt their existing manufacturing processes: They can rely on the same performance to which they are accustomed and benefit from a drop-in solution. “As a pioneer of biopolymers, we are continuously striving to support our customers in the transition to a circular economy with renewable resources”, says Marcel Philipp Barth, head of global business management Biopolymers at BASF. “Our ecoflex® BMB, an industry-first on the global biopolymers market, advances the sustainability efforts in the packaging industry by reducing the use of fossil resources, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, and driving the use of renewable feedstock derived from organic waste and residual biomass. In this way, we help our customers make informed decisions about product design, thus shaping a more circular packaging value chain.”

Biomass balance approach
In the biomass balance approach, part of the fossil feedstocks in the first steps of the manufacturing process is replaced by waste-based renewable resources. The renewable amount is then attributed to specific products at the end of the manufacturing process by means of a third-party certified method: BASF has established a chain of custody from the renewable feedstock it uses through to the final product. An independent certification confirms that BASF has replaced the required quantities of fossil feedstock for the biomass balanced product that customers buy with renewable feedstock according to the REDcert2 and ISCC PLUS requirements.

ecoflex® – pioneered by BASF
Since its introduction in 1998, ecoflex® is the first commercially available biodegradable and certified compostable biopolymer on the market. Biopolymer innovations based on ecoflex® have opened up new end-of-life options for plastics that enable organics recycling and thus contribute to a circular economy. As a blend partner, ecoflex® provides the certified compostable BASF compound ecovio® with special material properties such as flexibility and toughness. Studies have shown the advantages of ecovio® for production, packaging, and shelf life of food as well as for the collection of food waste. These advantages are based on the material’s properties, including its certifications for biodegradability in commercial and home composting as well as in agricultural soil: Food waste is reduced and at the end oflife, ecoflex® and ecovio® support the collection of food waste ensuring that nutrients are returned to the soil by high-quality compost. This contributes to a circular economy by closing the nutrient cycle via organics recycling.