On 22 June 2022, for the first time after the Covid-19 outbreak, European Bioplastics (EUBP) invited political stakeholders to a networking event in Brussels. François de Bie, Chairman of EUBP, welcomed the over 70 guests in the premises of the Representation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia to the European Union. De Bie expressed his appreciation for the great number of different stakeholders attending the EUBP event, including representatives from the EU Commission, the European Parliament, science, and the industry.
In his welcome remarks he looked back at almost ten years as Chairman of EUBP and briefly outlined the association’s development during that time. The great interest in this event would also reflect the essential role that bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics play in Europe’s transition towards a renewable, circular economy. In this regard, de Bie gave an outlook on the economic development of the bioplastics industry whose production capacities are expected to more than triple during within the next five years. By 2026, the share of bioplastics in the overall plastics production is expected to pass the two percent mark for the first time. However, he also made clear that a continued successful development of the industry would require a clear and reliable political environment. Therefore, the EUBP Chairman welcomed the European Commission’s policy initiatives contributing to the establishment of such a political environment, especially the forthcoming policy framework on bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics. However, the policy framework, as well as the other EU policy initiatives, should acknowledge the important role of bioplastics within a circular economy in a much stronger way than EU policies did in the past. In this regard, de Bie especially emphasized the need for a level playing field of fossil-based and bio-based plastics.
His asks were directly received by the keynote speaker of the evening, Ms. Emmanuelle Maire, Head of Unit, Circular Economy, Sustainable Production & Consumption at DG ENV, who gave an update on the current status of development of the policy framework for bioplastics. Maire confirmed that bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics can help in the transition to a climate-neutral, biodiversity-friendly, zero pollution, and circular economy. However, she also pointed out that bioplastics can also present several challenges. In this regard, the policy framework would be important as it would help to share and prove the understanding of these materials and to clarify the conditions under which they can deliver genuine environmental benefits.
In her keynote she described the Commission’s approach to develop the framework, which started with establishing a data, respectively, knowledge base on bioplastics. To that objective, the Commission ha