NEW PRODUCT MEETS BPI STANDARDS FOR BIODEGRADABILITY

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NEW PRODUCT MEETS BPI STANDARDS FOR BIODEGRADABILITY
16 February 2007 - Alcoa

Alcoa KAMA, the sheet extrusion division of Reynolds Food Packaging, an Alcoa business, and Cereplast, Inc., a producer of proprietary bio-based resins, today announced that Alcoa KAMA plans to produce plastic sheet for thermoforming and other markets using Cereplast’s starch-based, bio-degradable resins. The extruded sheet in rollstock form will have wide applications for food service packaging and other uses.

The deal comes at a time of increasing sensitivity on the part of municipalities, food service businesses and consumers to the environmental effects of non-biodegradable plastics. Cities such as Santa Monica, Oakland and Baltimore have moved to ban polystyrene products, and food service suppliers have been looking for alternative packaging to meet increasing consumer demand.

Alcoa KAMA will make extruded plastic sheet available to select converters followed by a roll-out to major brand clients. The Biodegradable Products Institute has granted Alcoa KAMA and Cereplast use of the BPI logo on the new product. Products bearing the BPI logo meet ASTM D6400 and are designed to biodegrade quickly, completely and safely, without leaving any plastic residue in commercial and municipal composting facilities.

Cereplast resins are formulated from a patented and proprietary manufacturing process that incorporates starch and other biodegradable components, including PLA from NatureWorks, Llc. Cereplast resins are 100 percent compostable and can be substituted for petroleum-based resins in a wide variety of processes, including injection molding, extrusion and thermoforming.

“We are proud to partner with Alcoa KAMA, a consistent global leader in sustainability and recognized world-wide for their green practices and products. Their new thermoformable sheets made from Cereplast resins will now offer the food service industry and their customers the opportunity to reduce our collective environmental footprint, and our reliance on fossil fuels,” said Frederic Scheer, president and CEO of Cereplast.

Added Juan Lopez, vice president of sales and marketing, Alcoa KAMA, “Cereplast’s resins were the natural, dependable and economical choice for our company. Working together, we have created an environmental solution for disposable plastics that is part of the leading edge and competitive edge of sustainable plastics.”

http://www.alcoa.com

About: Alcoa
Alcoa is a leading producer of primary aluminium, fabricated aluminium and alumina and is active in all major aspects of the industry. It serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing design, engineering, production, and other capabilities of Alcoa's businesses as a single solution to customers. The company has 120 000 employees in 41 countries.

In addition to aluminium products and components, Alcoa also makes and markets consumer brands including Reynolds Wrap, Alcoa wheels, and Baco household wraps. Among its other businesses are vinyl siding, closures, fastening systems, precision castings, and electrical distribution systems for cars and trucks.

Alcoa makes a very sustainable product: almost 70% of the aluminium ever produced is still in use, equalling 480 million tonnes of a total 690 million tonnes manufactured since 1886.

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