As prices of plastics head north due to skyrocketing cost of oil, WalMart has decided to switch from petroleum-based plastics to corn-based. Cargill-owned NatureWorks will initially supply 114 million packages a year of its environmentally friendly containers for fresh strawberries, brussels sprouts, cut fruit and herbs to Wal-Mart. Plastic gift cards, salad boxes, deli trays, tomato packages, plastic film on donut boxes, and other applications will follow.
Wal-Mart and NatureWorks have spent about a year extensively testing packages made from the plastic known as PLA, or polylactic acid. NatureWorks plastic has already been adopted by grocery chains in Europe, and can be found in 7,300 grocery stores worldwide.
07-Nov-05 
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