Mirel brand chosen for joint venture’s PHA plastic

25 April 2007 – Metabolix and ADM, the US firms participating in a bioplastics plant now under construction at Clinton, in Iowa, are to market the product under the Mirel brand, the partners have announced. The material is to be made by the Telles joint venture, named after the goddess of the earth, which will start up the 50,000tpa plant in 2008.

Mirel material is a PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) polymer, produced from renewable resources such as corn sugar using a fully biological fermentation process to make a versatile range of biobased natural plastics.

Telles expects that its customers will market their natural plastic products co-branded with the Mirel name and logo. “ We are optimistic that Mirel’s name and distinguishable heart shaped leaf will become the trusted mark consumers look for in environmentally responsible plastics,” said Jim Barber, president and ceo of Metabolix.

Mirel differs from Natureworks’ PLA material in that it is fully compostable and hence does not need to be industrially composted. The polymer is created in the plant cells and not by polymerisation of a monomer.

Founded in 1992, Metabolix specialises in sustainable plastics, fuels and chemical materials. Partner ADM is an agricultural products giant with major processing of soybeans, corn, wheat and cocoa, which claims world leadership in BioEnergy.