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.”