Waste management and recovery options for bioplastics

Bioplastics are suitable for a broad range of end-of-life options, including reuse, mechanical recycling, organic recycling, and energy recovery. The overwhelming part of the bioplastic volume produced today can easily be recycled alongside their conventional counterparts where separate recycling streams for certain material types exist (e.g. biobased PE in the PE-stream or biobased PET in the PET-stream). This way, bioplastics contribute to higher recycling quotas in the EU and the implementation of the circular economy.

Furthermore, using biodegradable and compostable plastic products such as (biowaste) bags, food packaging, and cutlery strengthens industrial composting (organic recycling) as a waste management option and helps to increase waste management efficiency. If bioplastics can no longer be reused or recycled, it is nevertheless possible to use them in the production of bio-energy.

As with conventional plastics, the manner in which bioplastics waste is actually recovered depends on the