Together with the rest of the plastics world, European Bioplastics applauds the Plastics Strategy initiative announced by the European Commission. However, the organisation has also sounded a warning note.

According to European Bioplastics, the Commission has missed the chance to fully embrace the circular benefits of bio-based plastics and biodegradable plastics, the organisation warned.
While the Plastics Strategy sets clear goals to curb plastic waste, increase resource efficiency, and to create value and job growth in Europe, limiting the focus to mechanical recycling means that concrete steps towards reducing the dependency on fossil feedstock are still nowhere in sight. In addtion, while the fact that biodegradable plastics have a role to play in a circular economy has long been recognised, measure to promote these and supporting innovative bio-based plastics solutions are still lacking.

“Plastics made from renewable raw materials are a sustainable alternative for many plastic products”, said François de Bie, Chairman of European Bioplastics (EUBP), the association of the bioplastics industry in Europe. He added: “For some applications, recycled plastics are not always suitable due to lower quality or for safety reasons. While the increase of recycled content in plastics is important to reduce virgin fossil feedstock, alternative sustainable feedstocks such as bio-based feedstocks need to be encouraged as well in order to defossilise the plastics economy.”

Replacing a significant proportion of the conventional fossil feedstock by plant-based alternatives would reduce greenhouse emissions and help to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. At the same time, the mobilisation of EU-grown biomass for the production of bio-based plastics would provide impulses for jobs and growth in the bioeconomy sector and the opportunity to EU farmers to valorise side streams and by-products and to tap additional revenue streams.

EUBP welcomes the importance the Commission has given to biodegradable and compostable plastics and their role in separate collection systems for organic waste in order to improve clean waste streams and recycling quality. The benefits and circular use of biodegradable plastics have to be foremost considered in this context of organic recycling. EUBP looks forward to collaborating with the Commission on identifying applications and measures to stimulate innovation and drive market development in this field.

“In addition to organic recycling, biodegradable plastics have the potential to offer benefits with respect to reducing the impact of some applications on the marine environment. In a next step, appropriate materials, applications, standards, and environmental claims and communication have to be specified together with the Commission and other relevant stakeholders in upcoming initiatives as outlined in the strategy”, declared de Bie.

“We also appreciate the commitment of the Commission to make a clear distinction between biodegradable plastics and so-called ‘oxo-degradable’ plastics that falsely claim to biodegrade. We therefore strongly welcome the decision of the Commission to restrict the use of oxo-plastics in the EU”, said de Bie. “In this context, we will also work with the Commission on clearer and unambiguous communication and environmental claims and to increase efforts for better consumer information on the correct disposal of the different types of bioplastics.”

EUBP is looking forward to closely working together with the EU institutions and all relevant stakeholders in the upcoming discussions following the EU Plastics Strategy in order to ensure that the initial acknowledgements of alternative bio-based feedstocks and of biodegradable plastics will be further developed throughout the actions outline in the annex of the strategy.

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