NatureWorks expands Ingeo biopolymer to boost efficiency for BOPLA films
NatureWorks, a leading biomaterials manufacturer, has expanded its Ingeo biopolymer product line with the introduction of the Ingeo Extend platform in March 2025.
This innovative platform is designed to accelerate biodegradation and disintegration rates while achieving unprecedented levels of productivity, enabling the commercial-scale use of bio-based Ingeo PLA.
Ingeo Extend 4950D, the first grade in this platform, is a novel PLA polymer developed by NatureWorks that boosts the production efficiency of BOPLA films while lowering production costs.
It allows for a transverse direction (TD) stretch ratio of up to 7x and can be used alongside other Ingeo PLA grades to produce films more economically on equipment typically used for manufacturing Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP)，significantly reducing production costs on machinery.
Sealing performance is also enhanced, particularly in coextruded film structures where Ingeo Extend 4950D is incorporated into the sealing layers at up to 15%. These new BOPLA films exhibit high heat resistance (up to 130-140°C), excellent clarity, and strong mechanical properties, including low shrinkage.
Both oriented film producers and brand owners can leverage Ingeo Extend 4950D to reduce BOPLA production costs. Additionally, biaxial films made with Ingeo Extend 4950D degrade faster than unmodified Ingeo PLA, depending on the blend composition. It offers superior manufacturing efficiency and faster biodegradability for a wide range of BOPLA applications, including coffee capsules, candy wrappers, single-portion packets, and more.
Ingeo Extend 4950D offers superior manufacturing efficiency and faster biodegradability for a wide range of BOPLA applications, including coffee capsules, candy wrappers, single-portion packets, and more.
“Brand owners and film producers are increasingly asking for lower cost biaxial films for compostable food packaging and Ingeo Extend 4950D biaxial films are ideal to replace small-format food packaging made from persistent polymers such as polypropylene,” said Roger Tambay, Chief Growth Officer at NatureWorks.
Recent growth in extended producer responsibility legislation in the U.S., alongside the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) in Europe, has heightened the need for compostable flexible films and food packaging to meet diversion targets.
The new grades within the Ingeo Extend platform are engineered for compostability up to 8x faster than existing PLA grades. They can also be blended with other Ingeo PLA grades to enhance biodegradation and disintegration rates, making Ingeo Extend platform technology ideal for items with food residue that are difficult to recycle, such as condiment packets, snack and candy packaging, salad bags, lidding for creamer containers, coffee pods, sauce dippers, and more.
As Tambay commented, small-format packaging films are better suited for composting rather than recycling. With this new platform and the Ingeo Extend 4950D grade, they can meet this demand beyond niche applications or a single product line, enabling production at a scale that makes replacing fossil-based persistent plastics with compostable bio-based materials more feasible than ever.
The use of compostable packaging to divert food scraps to composting facilities, rather than landfills, has a measurable impact on climate and the environment. By replacing fossil-based plastics, Ingeo reduces the carbon footprint of packaging by an average of 73%. Additionally, food scraps decomposing in landfills are the third-largest source of global methane emissions.
Diverting food residue to composting operations reduces these emissions and creates valuable soil amendments that promote healthy soils with good structure, enabling carbon dioxide sequestration. Furthermore, a study by HYDRA Marine Sciences confirms that Ingeo PLA does not contribute to persistent microplastic pollution in the environment.
