Dear members,

Please find below an overview of the activities of European Bioplastics throughout March and April 2019. 

Regulatory Affairs (WG REGA)

Implementing Act for marking of biodegradable plastic carrier bags:

The initiative is headed by DG Environment. The responsible committee so far drafted a new mark and discussed this draft in two meetings (November / February) with representatives of the member States. The problem with the envisaged approach is that no clear connection to independent third party certification is demanded and that ‘self declaration’ will result in decreased verifiability as well as increased misuse of markings. What is more, existing markings, such as the Seedling, have not been taken into account. Last but not least, the draft marking contained discriminatory elements such as the slogan ‘do not litter ‘ as part of the logo that should apply to all packaging and not only to biodegradable plastics.

EUBP has shared its input with the responsible unit at DG Environment and invited policy officer Leonardo Mazza to its February REGA meeting. Furthermore, EUBP prepared a position paper in March that was shared with the respective contacts at DG Environment and will continue to monitor any new developments. The process is currently on stand-by due to the grave concerns shared and very different perceptions amongst the Member States.

Revision of the Packaging Directive's essential requirements / preparation of guidelines for the eco-modulation of EPR fees:

The process has just started with a workshop on 11 March. EUBP has drafted a position paper in March/April and will share it with the corresponding Commission contacts as well as UK-based consultancy Eunomia which is managing the consultation process. What is more EUBP shared input with Eunomia regarding several cases for the eco-modulation of EPR fees.

On 15 May a representative of Eunomia will participate in the REGA meeting in Brussels.

The next Eunomia workshop on this initiative will take place on 9 July and an input (2-3 pages on better implementation of the Essential Requirements) has been requested by 24 June. EUBP plans to prepare the requested input in May/early June.

Study on ‘Relevance of biodegradable plastics in a circular economy’:

Another study by Eunomia recently kicked off. Currently the consultancy is organising a workshop on 3 June. EUBP will give a presentation and is working closely with project manager Simon Hann to recommend stakeholders that should be invited in order to have balanced and multi-facetted views. The results of the study shall be presented end of 2019.

JRC project on LCA for ‘alternative feedstock for plastics production’

During the last REGA meeting the discussion showed that members and EUBP perceive the process of this very relevant project as entirely intransparent. At this stage we cannot be sure if this ‘gatekeeper’ project for bio-based plastics will produce any scientifically diligent results. We therefore met with DG GROW’s policy officer Laure Baillargeon in April to share our concerns about the process, lack of material expertise and flawed assumptions made in the set up of the 10 case LCAs. Our approach is focussing to gain an extension for he project until minimum summer 2020 in order to give more room to JRC and to deliver on transparency and involvement of stakeholders as well as correcting unrealistic scenarios. We are currently preparing a position paper on ‘LCA in policy making’ and will add an annex critically commenting on the JRC project as an example. The papers will be distributed amongst the relevant Commission agencies as well as to the JRC. Further steps depend on how our input is received.

WG REGA: the next WG REGA meeting is taking place on 15 May in Brussels.

Product Groups

Product Group Biobased

PG Biobased held a web meeting on 13 March, mainly discussing the current development of the JRC study on alternative feedstocks. The group decided that a position paper is needed until the end of the summer (to be developed by TF1), succeeded by a press release addressing the current issues with comparative LCA in the field of bio-based plastics. The development of this paper has started in April and is taken over by WG REGA to be finalized in May. If needed TF1 will have a short web conference to discuss this paper. Comments and feedback will predominantly be discussed in the WG REGA meeting in May.

In the next meeting PG Biobased will elect new chairpersons. It will take place on 25 June 2019 in Berlin. Anyone interested in being a candidate for the position of chair or vice-chair kindly contact us soon.

For more information regarding bio-based plastics including sustainability issues and the work of the PG and TFs, please contact Constance Ißbrücker (issbruecker@european-bioplastics.org).

Product Group Biodegradables

The PG is working on a positive list for biodegradable applications in different environments. This will be discussed in the next PG meeting, which will take place on 25 June in Berlin. During this meeting the PG Biodegradables will also elect new chairpersons. If you are interested in being a candidate for this positions, kindly let us now beforehand.

For more information regarding PG Biodegradables, the TF Marine, and Seedling certification, please contact Constance Ißbrücker (issbruecker@european-bioplastics.org).

Working Group Standardisation

WG Standardisation met on 27 March in Berlin. Main topics were the standard on home compostable carrier bags, the possibly upcoming revision of EN13432, and current standard developments on ISO level.

CEN/TC 261/SC4/WG2 met again on 28 March in Berlin to discuss the last comments on the draft standard for home compostable carrier bags. And additional web meeting took place on 24 April. The draft will now be shared with experts outside the committee for comments.

For more information on standards for bioplastics, current standardisation processes, and certification of bioplastics, please contact Constance Ißbrücker (issbruecker@european-bioplastics.org).

Communications

Please find at the following link a selection of relevant media clippings from March – April 2019.

In March and April, we have conducted an interview with a journalist from Portugal. Additionally, we have contributed to an article for the Messe Düsseldorf on future market perspectives for the bioplastics industry. Finally, the article on mulch films written by EUBP has been published on the magazine of the Deutscher Bauernverband.

On April 29, the University of Plymouth has published a controversial study, which intends to provide insights into the ‘environmental deterioration’ of plastic carrier bags made from different polymer types under littering conditions. EUBP has replied with a press release, which has been published by several international media. Additionally, it has spoken with several media with the intention to clarify misconceptions on compostability.

The fact-sheet Bioplastics in the automotive market has been updated and is available on EUBP’s website.

Currently, we are working on further updating the content of the following fact sheets:

• What are bioplastics?
• Standards for bioplastics
• Bioplastic carrier bags
• Bioplastic packaging
• Renewable resources in bio-based plastics

Additionally, Elena Cantos attended the European Bioeconomy Alliance Meeting in Brussels, where next communications steps for the organisation where discussed.

The WG Communications has approved the work programme for the next two years.

For more information or questions concerning the communications activities of EUBP, please contact Elena Cantos (cantos@european-bioplastics.org).

Events

Register now! The 14th edition of the annual European Bioplastics Conference will take place on 3/4 December 2019 at the TITANIC Chaussee Hotel in Berlin, Germany. Following last year’s success and your overwhelmingly positive feedback, we are very happy to be able to host the event at this excellent venue again.

Several potential sponsors and exhibitors have expressed their interest in the event and we are looking to finalise the first agreements in May. The registration has already opened and the first wave of bookings taking advantage of the Early Bird registration fee has come in. We have also started accepting abstract submissions up until 31^st July, so if you would like to express your interest to contribute to the agenda, recommend someone you know as an excellent speaker, or suggest highly relevant topics that really should be addressed at the 2019 edition, please download the Abstract Template or get in touch with us directly.

If you would like to discuss sponsorship to promote your brand through the European Bioplastics Conference, exhibit your products and services, or otherwise be involved, please get in touch with Götz Ahrens (conference@european-bioplastics.org).  

Projects

The first PolyBioSkin reporting period (of two, 18 months each) has now successfully been closed and everyone is on track for successfully completing this BBI-JU research and innovation action by May 2020. The PolyBioSkin project website has been overhauled with the addition of an Info Centre on the website that lists a host of activities, publications, videos, and other material, including upcoming events at which PolyBioSkin will be presented or otherwise involved: http://polybioskin.eu/info-centre/. To find our more about the project and stay informed, please get in touch with Götz Ahrens (ahrens@european-bioplastics.org).

European Bioplastics will be involved as a consortium partner in another BBI-JU funded Research & Innovation Action that commences in June. The project will be led by a member of European Bioplastics and the dates for the kickoff meeting have now been set for mid June. More information to follow!

European Bioplastics has set up a new service that will connect members with organisations looking to set up project consortia and submitting research proposals. The Project Partnering Request works much like the Business Requests that you receive regularly through European Bioplastics in increasing numbers. Anyone looking for project partners from among our members can fill in and submit it to European Bioplastics. We then distribute it to all members who have signed up for the service.

NB: To receive project enquiries, you need to contact us to be included on the distribution list for legal data protection reasons.

For more information regarding on-going and future project involvements, please get in touch with Götz Ahrens (ahrens@european-bioplastics.org).

Planned activities

• WG Regulatory Affairs:
  • Finalise Position on essential requirements and ecomodulation, discussion with Eunomia representative at REGA meeting on 15 May
  • Position on LCA ‘alternative feedstock for plastics production’ – preparation and distribution
  • Preparation of workshop on 3 June on ‘Relevance of biodegradable plastics in a circular economy’
  • Organisation of NGO workshop on feedstock for bioplastics
  • Planning information material and communication measures around EP elections in May
• Position regarding bioplastics LCA (PG Biobased, TF1 together with WG REGA).
• Positive list for biodegradable materials in different environments.
• Publication of PolyBioSkin newsletter
• PolyBioSkin @ PlantBasedSummit
• WG Communications to launch social media campaign to inform (elected and upcoming) MEPs about the benefits of bio-based plastics and the different end-of-life solutions for bioplastics (with a focus on biodegradability) to achieve a circular economy in Europe.
• Update of fact sheets

If you have any suggestions regarding the content and/or format of our monthly report, please do not hesitate to share them with us. 

This email is sent to all the contacts of our member companies that we have registered in our database. If you would like to share it with further colleagues, kindly send us an email to members@european-bioplastics.org.

Kind regards,
Hasso v. Pogrell