European Green Deal: Bioplastics crucial to climate-neutral 2050 goal, EUBP stresses

16 Dec 2019 --- European Bioplastics (EUBP) has welcomed the communication on the recently-published European Green Deal, which maps out Europe’s mission to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Described by the European Commission as “the greatest challenge and opportunity of our times,” EUBP regards the bioplastics industry as crucial to achieving zero net greenhouse emissions. The Commission has put a special emphasis on the plastics industry and EUBP reiterates that bioplastics can be a key driver for sustainable innovation in this industry.

“This roadmap marks Europe’s way to becoming a resource-efficient and competitive economy with zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. We see our [bioplastics] industry as crucial to achieving this deal,” notes EUBP Chairman François de Bie.

The Green Deal concept includes a set of specific measures and initiatives that are designed to guide the implementation process. Amongst other sectors, the Commission has put a special emphasis on the plastics industry. As a key driver for innovation of this industry, bioplastics will play a leading role, says de Bie.

“To reach circularity and fossil-decarbonization formulated in the concept, it is highly important to create a strong link between bioeconomy and circular economy. Bio-based plastics can make a strong contribution as they use sustainably sourced biomass as feedstock for their production. They also help to diminish the dependency on fossil resources and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases.”

The efforts of the bioplastics industry to develop innovative solutions, such as the pictured Lavazza compostable coffee capsule, is driving market growth globally, von Pogrell says.“Mechanical or chemical recycling of those bio-based plastics further adds to the reduced environmental footprint of these products. The same applies to biodegradable and compostable plastics as they increase recyclability-options by adding composting and helping to create clean organic waste streams,” de Bie adds.

EUBP specifically welcomes the European Commission’s initiative included in the Green Deal Action Plan that focuses on sustainable products as well as on packaging. EUBP says it will engage in constructive discussions with the Commission to create a sound regulatory framework for the use of bio-based as well as for biodegradable and compostable plastics.

During the 14th EUBP Conference this month, Werner Bosmans from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Environment explained the EU Commission’s ambitions to further develop the framework for bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics. Key activities will include the Life-Cycle-Assessment of different feedstock alternatives for plastics, the development of preliminary criteria for the beneficial use of compostable plastics as well as a study on biodegradability in the open environment and one on agricultural plastics.

Danone Water’s Philippe Diercxsens provided a differing industry perspective on the EU’s policy on plastics and emphasized the need for more coherence between the individual Commission activities.

The EU: Friend or foe?
EUBP has consistently expressed concern that the EU does not provide bioplastics with an equal platform to conventional plastics and biofuels. Last year, Hasso von Pogrell, Managing Director for EUBP, told PackagingInsights that the organization wants to see “a level playing field for bioplastics when competing for markets and raw materials as, currently, both the oil industry and biofuels are greatly subsidized and it is time for the EU to phase out those existing oil subsidies.”

A year on, is EU bioplastic legislation looking more favorable? “No, unfortunately, not at all - actually you could even say the EU is putting even more obstacles in our way and making our life even more difficult,” von Pogrell laments. “We always have to justify everything for bioplastics while the conventional fuels and plastics seem to be taken for granted, and nobody really deals with their environmental issues.”

“Despite the problems we are facing in Brussels, the global bioplastic market is still growing, which leads you to think that if we were to have a better legislative environment, the market would be growing much faster than it does.”

This month, EUBP announced “dynamic growth” in the global bioplastics industry, in which packaging remains the largest field of application with almost 53 percent (1.14 million metric tons) of the total bioplastics market in 2019. “In an increasingly environmentally conscious environment, the global market for bioplastics is predicted to grow by more than 15 percent over the next five years,” von Pogrell indicates.

Global bioplastic growth is possible thanks to the steadily increasing demand for sustainable products by both consumers and brands alike and the continuous efforts of the bioplastics industry to develop innovative materials with improved properties and new functionalities, he explains.

By Joshua Poole