Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has reduced the amount of plastic languishing in a landfill by the equivalent of 68 million plastic water bottles in just 12 months after converting to using BioNatur Plastic^™ biodegradable stretch wrap for cargo shipments as part of its sustainability programme.

Regular plastic can take 1,000 years to biodegrade in a landfill. BioNatur Plastic^™ biodegradable plastics will biodegrade under landfill conditions in only 5 to 10 years (most recent testing shows LDPE stretch wrap 22.8% biodegraded in 387 days). In WFS’ case, in the past year, it has reduced the amount of standard non-biodegradable plastic going to landfill by 616,885kg.

“WFS was excited to partner with M&G Packaging and be the first major consumer of these biodegradable plastics,” said Stephanie Peacock, Worldwide Flight Services’ director of sourcing & supply in North America. “With the state of the plastic recycling market over the last few years, we were desperately looking for a sustainable alternative to sending tons of plastic to a landfill. We are greatly encouraged by the results we have seen in just 12 months and to have found a truly biodegradable option that performs so well.”

WFS converted the majority of the plastic used in its North America cargo handling business over to the BioNatur Plastics^™ line of sustainable products launched by M&G Packaging. BioNatur Plastic^™ is a growing line of biodegradable plastic products manufactured with a 1% load of an organic, food-safe proprietary additive that allows anaerobic bacteria to digest the plastic in a landfill. Outside of a landfill the plastic has an indefinite shelf life and performs exactly like traditional plastic products.

Charles Rick, president of M&G Packaging, commented: “We’re proud to be supporting WFS’ sustainability goals and appreciate its leadership and commitment on this initiative to reduce the long-term environmental impact of plastic waste. M&G Packaging has always been a leader in developing sustainable products for the cargo industry and will continue to be a pioneer for such a worthy cause.”