Cologne Carnival serves up one million Ingeo bioplastic-based BioWare drink cups

Organizers of the Cologne Carnival, one of the oldest street carnivals in Europe, focused both on safety by eliminating glass cold-drink cups and being kinder to the environment by using Huhtamaki BioWare® plastic drinking cups, made from Ingeo™ bioplastic, which comes from plants, not oil. More than one million of the Huhtamaki cups were used during this year’s carnival, held in March.

"The plastic resin that goes into the innovative drinking cups emits fewer greenhouse gas emissions and requires less energy to produce than the petroleum-based plastics used in traditional plastic drinking cups," said Markus Rittersbach, Chairman of the Cologne Carnival Festival Committee. "This is the second year for BioWare cups at the Cologne Carnival, and we hope to use them at the carnival for many years to come as they are safe, hygienic, and spare the environment."

"The publicity gained from the 2009 UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, where 285,000 BioWare cups and 12,000 deli containers were used by foodservice organizations, and the long-term trend of improving safety by the elimination of glass and lowering the environmental impact of large events, like the Cologne Carnival, contributes to the growing popularity of our plant-based foodservice items," said Andreas Hees, European account manager of Huhtamaki.

All BioWare products are certified in accordance with EN13432, the European standard for compostability of packaging, and all have a lower environmental impact than their traditional counterparts. For more information on Huhtamaki, visit www.huhtamaki.com. For information on Ingeo bioresin manufactured by NatureWorks, visit www.natureworksllc.com.

About Huhtamaki
Huhtamaki Group is a leading manufacturer of consumer and specialty packaging with 2009 net sales totalling EUR 2 billion. Foodservice and consumer goods markets are served by approximately 13,000 people in 54 manufacturing units and several sales offices in 33 countries. The parent company, Huhtamäki Oyj, has its head office in Espoo, Finland and its share is quoted on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd. Additional information is available at www.huhtamaki.com.
BioWare® is Huhtamaki's complete range of high quality single-use foodservice products that have their origin in pure nature; primarily made of renewable plant materials like Ingeo. All BioWare products are also totally compostable. The entire chain, from raw material input to production and disposal, has been designed to have a minimal impact on the environment.

About NatureWorks LLC
NatureWorks LLC is a company dedicated to meeting the world’s needs today without compromising the earth’s ability to meet the needs of tomorrow.  NatureWorks LLC is the first company to offer a family of commercially available low carbon footprint Ingeo™ biopolymers derived from 100 percent annually renewable resources with performance and economics that compete with oil-based plastics and fibers.  www.natureworksllc.com.