On November 30, 2022, the European Commission (EC) published an EU policy framework on bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics. Silvia Forni from the EC’s Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV) presented the framework at the opening policy session of the 17th annual conference held by European Bioplastics (EUBP) in Berlin, Germany, and online.
In her talk, Forni emphasized that the newly adopted framework should serve as a guide for the Commission’s further policy work (e.g., the UN Plastics Treaty, FPF reported), industry, and the public. Such guidance would be essential since the public perceives bioplastics as “good” or “better” for the environment. Forni agreed that these materials represent opportunities (e.g. bio-based plastics can help to reduce the use of fossil resources and compostable plastics can help reduce compost contamination) but they also pose challenges (e.g., technical, related to consumer behavior). Therefore, the framework aims to provide clarification. Forni highlighted the two main messages of the communication proposal, (i) biobased, biodegradable, and compostable plastics “should not distract from the need to align the life-cycle of plastics with the principles of the circular economy”, meaning that reducing, reusing, and recycling have priority, and (ii) “conditions need to be met by these plastics to deliver overall positive environmental outcomes.” She emphasized that generic claims such as “bioplastics” and “bio-based” “should never be used” without any further specification, for instance, regarding the percentage of the bio-based content.
For bio-based plastics, the EC wants the industry to specify not only the bio-based content but also to prioritize secondary vs. primary and long-lived vs. short-lived products, as well as to comply with existing sustainability criteria. Concerning biodegradable plastics, the framework lays out that biodegradation has to be considered as a system property since both the material itself and also the environment influence biodegradation. Furthermore, the time frame and the specific environment for biodegradation should be specified. For litter-prime products, biodegradation claims should not be given at all, and overall, biodegradable plastics should be restricted to specific applications such as mulch films. For compostable plastics, the proposal as well as Article 8 of the new packaging and packaging waste legislation (FPF reported) specify four packaging applications to become mandatorily compostable: tea and coffee bags, tea and coffee single-serve systems, very light carrier bags, as well as vegetable and fruit stickers. As one reason for the mandate, Forni mentioned the avoidance of consumer confusion (FPF reported). All other packaging should be recycled instead of ending up in biowaste. Furthermore, only industrially compostable plastics (not home-compostable ones) should be labeled as compostable, and the disposal route specified by pictograms.
In her talk, Forni also shared that the EC will continue to fund research in the bioplastics area but with a focus on (i) the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by bio-based compared to fossil-based plastics, (ii) the application possibilities of biodegradable and recyclable biobased plastics, and (iii) the further investigation of the biodegradation process concerning acceptable timeframe, transfer to other media, and long term effects.
A policy framework on biobased, biodegradable, and compostable plastics was announced in the European Green Deal (FPF reported), the Circular Economy Action Plan (FPF reported), and the Plastics Strategy (FPF reported). The Commission’s proposal is currently with the Council and the Parliament.
Besides Forni, two more EC representatives spoke in the conference’s policy session: Christian Holzleitner from DG Clima focused on sustainable carbon cycles emphasizing that the EU’s aim to get climate neutral by 2050 would only be reached through the reduction of fossil carbon usebut also by capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and keeping products longer in the cycle. Jorge Cristobal Garcia from the Joint Research Center (JRC) defined recycling.
Besides, representatives from regulatory authorities, the conference featured mainly the (bio)plastics industry, brands, some waste associations, research institutions, and certification bodies. Sessions covered best practices in food waste collection based on case studies of several European countries with a focus on compostable bags and global perspectives on standardization. In several sessions industry representatives presented their recent developments covering bio-based building blocks (e.g., wood-derived), bioplastics packaging (e.g., polyethylene furanoate (PEF) bottles, FPF reported), and end-of-life options (e.g., recycling of biodegradable plastics). Innovative applications towards sustainability were also presented and covered bioplastics in medical devices, for fire protection of fields and forests, and technical building equipment.
Several speakers emphasized the need for clear, unambiguous, and transparent communication to avoid confusion on what to expect from a material concerning ingredients, disposal, and biodegradation. Especially, the second day’s keynote speaker Ramani Narayan from Michigan State University, pointed out that there is a lot of miscommunication when it comes to bio-based and biodegradable plastics. For instance, he clarified that “bio-based” means “containing organic carbon of renewable origin from agricultural plant, animal, fungi, microorganisms, marine or forestry materials living in a natural environment in equilibrium with the atmosphere.” Accordingly, carbon synthetically captured from the atmosphere would not be considered “bio-based” since it was never fixed by plants.
As happens every year, European Bioplastics (Managing Director Hasso von Porgrell) gave a bioplastics market update and an outlook for the coming five years. The market data was compiled together with the nova-Insitute, Hürth, Germany. According to the data, global bioplastic production is expected to increase from 2.2 million tons in 2021 to around 6.3 million tons in 2026. While biodegradable plastics are expected to increase by 211%, bio-based plastics are by 150% with polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs, 550%) and bio-based polyamides (PAs, 350%) forecasted to grow the most, respectively.
While currently one quarter of the bioplastics production capacity is located in Europe, production is expected to shift to Asia (> 60% in 2027). Hasso von Pogrell expressed his concerns about the EC’s communication proposal, which would not promote bioplastics as a sustainable solution at scale. With such restricting legislative efforts, the EU would promote shifting the bioplastic production away from Europe and towards Asia, thereby threatening European industries. According to von Pogrell, many misconceptions about bioplastics would circulate, some of which he aimed to clear out in his talk.
The EUBP conference was attended by 358 participants of which over 300 gathered onsite, representing 210 companies and 24 countries.
References
European Commission (November 30, 2022). “Communication – EU policy framework on biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics.”
Read more
EUBP (December, 2022). “17th European Bioplastics Conference.”
EUBP (December 6, 2022). “Global bioplastics production defies challenges by showing significant increase.”
EUBP (December 2022). “Bioplastics Market Development Update 2022.”
