Green plastics packaging comprises recycled, reusable and biodegradable packaging. Growth of green packaging is projected to increase at about 3.4% until 2013 to reach 450,000 tons. The fastest gains are anticipated for biodegradable plastic packaging and plastic recycled content packaging. To know more about the factors that will affect the growth, the applications that will see an increase in use of these materials, etc. Read Green packaging to grow at 3.4% pa to almost half a million in USA by 2013

A substitute for copper pipes as a method of water distribution has emerged - chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC). CPVC offers advantages owing to its lightweight, ease of installation and lower overall installed cost. The commercial acceptance of CPVC piping has been limited, especially for industrial applications where more demanding performance and larger pipe sizes are required. As a result, two new industrial CPVC pipe compounds have recently been developed. One product is an ultrahigh impact strength material that has been shown to exhibit more than 5 times the toughness than most other CPVC products. The other product is a new large diameter pipe extrusion compound. Read more in Improved grades for CPVC pipes offer superior impact strength and ability to produce large size pipes

South East Asian region consists of China, Korea, Taiwan and ASEAN countries. The outlook of masterbatches in this region is quite buoyant. Demand pattern in this region is quite diverse with countries like Korea, Singapore and Taiwan having scope for growth of sophisticated masterbatches, while countries like Vietnam constitute a small but rapidly growing market. Despite a global economic slowdown, growth of 8% was seen in 2008, supported by robust growth in the automotive and electrical sector. A research estimates that masterbatches will grow over 8% through 2013 in the region. Read in Masterbatches expected to grow at 8% pa until 2013 in South East Asia

Carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites, that till recently, mainly found application in aerospace, automotive and high-end sporting goods are increasingly being used in new manufacturing applications where material cost is secondary to performance, high strength and reduced weight. After demand slipped in 2009, the carbon fibre market is expected to rebound in 2010, as economies recover from the slow down. To know about the growing application sectors, growth potential, newer developments, etc, read Carbon fibre composites poised for dramatic growth with increased application

Recent innovation has led to the development of color-changing roof tiles that absorb heat in winter, reflect it in summer. These roof tiles change color based on the temperature. The tiles become white when it's hot, allowing them to reflect away most of the sun's heat. When it's cold they turn black and absorb heat just when it's needed. This leads to substantial savings in the form of energy savings. Read abut the development in Color changing roof tiles control use of energy