Company’s Biodegradable Packaging To Be Used In U.K. Retailers Chocolate Boxes

British retailer Marks & Spencer’s entire Swiss chocolate range will be sold this Christmas in biodegradable plastic trays developed by Australian company Plantic Technologies. The innovative bioplastic, also called plantic, is manufactured using starch, is 100 percent compostable and dissolves completely in running water. Plantic, founded in 2003, has sales offices in Germany, Britain and the U.S., and employs about 50 people worldwide. The global biodegradable plastic packaging market is estimated by a British analyst to be worth $1.6 billion this year. However, the recession and falling oil prices have left the plastics market in a shambles. Plantic's shares on London's tech-oriented AIM exchange dropped sharply, from 80 pence to seven, but a plan is now underway to take the company’s stock private.