Dear members,

Please find below an overview of activities carried out by European Bioplastics throughout November/ December 2021.  

Regulatory Affairs (WG REGA)

The European Bioplastics’ Working Group Regulatory Affairs (WG REGA) met on 10 November and 8 December. 

Topics discussed included the feedback on the Commission’s Roadmap for a Policy Framework Communication on Bio-based and Biodegradable/Compostable plastics (PFC). The consultation closed on 27 October and 130 responses had been submitted. Feedback was mixed as predicted and this would be further analysed by EUBP. A further public consultation on the PFC would be forthcoming in January, with the final document due for publication in May 2022. 

The group also discussed the outreach to the Member States on the revision of the PPWD.  So far, meetings had been held with the Bulgarian, French, Danish, and Hungarian Perm Reps which were largely positive and constructive. EUBP had also held individual meetings with BON National associations from the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain to get a better understanding of the national political situations. Additional meetings had been organised in the EP with Committee advisors and MEPs and their assistants. This series of meetings would continue throughout 2022 in preparation for the publication of the Commission’s proposal in Q2 2022. 

EUBP has worked to flag up flaws in the methodology of the JRC LCA on alternative feedstocks for plastics. A press release and joint European Bioeconomy Alliance position paper have been prepared, and the paper was launched at EUBP’s annual conference. The documents were then shared with the relevant Commissioners, Director Generals, Directors, Heads of Unit, and Policy Officers at DGs GROW, JRC, ENVI, AGRI, ECON, and RTD. 

EUBP has submitted the content of its position paper on microplastics to the Commission’s public consultation. A further response to a consultation on recycled content in food contact materials with deadline of 18 January 2022 is under preparation. 

EUBP also worked on an outreach to the UNEP to correct inaccuracies in its October report on plastic marine pollution.  

For detailed information on the work of the WG Regulatory Affairs, please contact Joanna Dupont-Inglis (inglis@european-bioplastics.org) or Maja Lisac (Lisac@european-bioplastics.org) 

BON Europe

BON Europe (Bioplastics Organisations Network) is an alliance of European Bioplastics and European national bioplastics organisations. The group held its monthly web meeting on 18 November. News and updates from national organisations were shared, including information on exceptions for some biodegradable or compostable applications in Portugal and Slovakia. In Romania, SUP products will probably need to be replaced by “bio-friendly” alternatives. Furthermore, following a meeting with Werner Bosmans on the revision of the PPWD, it became obvious that a list of products that need to be or must not be compostable could be a practicable way. In individual meetings with Spanish and French BON members, EUBP was informed that the ban on plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables weighing less than 1.5 kg had already come into force. Plastic producers, however, consider taking legal action against the ban. Individual meetings with BON members have taken place and will continue in the coming weeks/months. The group has been informed that Maja Lisac will take over the coordination of BON Europe during Katharina Hinse's maternity leave which started at the end of November. 

For more information regarding BON Europe, please contact  Maja Lisac (lisac@european-bioplastics.org).

Product Groups

Product Group Bio-based

TF 1 has developed a document summarising the position of EUBP on the JRC methodology for LCA of alternative feedstocks for plastics. It refers to the comprehensive position paper on LCA for bioplastics developed in 2019 and, therefore, only lists the most important points accompanied by the clear statement that the methodology is currently not suitable to compare bio-based and fossil-based plastics. The paper was shared with the European Bioeconomy Alliance and published as a common position.  

The new land use data has been compiled and published together with the market data. 

On 15 November, EUBP also held a virtual meeting with representatives of the Japan Bioplastics Association to discuss relevant developments for bio-based plastics in Japan and Europe. 

The next meeting of PG Bio-based will take place on 25 January 2022, at 9:00am. 

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

PG Biodegradables met on 9 November and discussed relevant policy developments, the positions on microplastics, and anaerobic digestion, as well as compostable bioplastics in recycling. The working plan 2021 – 2023 was finally approved. Katharina Schlegel (BASF) stepped back from her position as Group Chair due to new job obligations. Erwin Lepoudre (Kaneka) is now Chair of PG Biodegradables, supported by the new Vice Chair Afsaneh Nabifar (BASF). The draft version of the position paper on compostable plastics in anaerobic digestion has been shared with the PG and can be commented until 14 January.  

The position paper on microplastics has been finalised and published on the EUBP website.  

EUBP tried again to get an observer spot in the CASG Polymers dealing with the registration of polymers under REACH. The request was declined again. EUBP plans to discuss the topic with CEFIC in January. 

The next meetings of PG Biodegradables are scheduled for 11 January and 12 April 2022. 

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

Working Group Standardisation

WG Standardisation met on 18 November to discuss again the inclusion of anaerobic digestion in the EN13432. A common position should be found before the meeting of CEN/TC 261 SC4 WG2 on 26 November. It was decided that it would make sense to ask for a standard on the quality of compost and digestate. A separate AD standard should be on energy recovery only. EUBP should lobby for the necessity of a post-composting step on EU level. A new meeting has not been scheduled yet. 

CEN/TC 411 WG 4 will also be busy with a follow-up to the JRC LCA study. The group met on 7 December and decided to leave the current LCA standard for bio-based products as it is but to start with the development of a separate standard dealing with the issues of comparative LCA of bio-based products with other feedstocks. 

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 under the following link a selection of relevant media clippings from November/December 2021 (online). 

During November, EUBP’s communication work continued to concentrate on the 16th European Bioplastics Conference. In the final run-up to the event, relevant activities included ongoing promotional communication, especially on social media. During the conference, EUBP Comms covered the sessions as well as related side events on Twitter and/or LinkedIn, e.g. the drinks reception. Comms also published several press releases: on the JRC’s new LCA methodology (30 November), the new market data 2022 (1 December), and a wrap-up press release after the event (3 December). Especially the JRC press release created a strong media echo and was picked up by a whole range of specialised media (please also see media clipping). In comparison with the previous conference, EUBP Comms was able to significantly increase its activities, especially on social media. E.g. only during the months of November and December, EUBP’s LinkedIn account gained around 500 new followers. 

Prior to the conference, EUBP Comms supervised the update of all market data graphics and developed a two-pager summarizing the most important results.  

On 13 December, Comms published another press release which highlighted results of a United Nations/FAO report on agricultural plastic products recommending biodegradable and compostable plastics as sustainable alternative to conventional plastic products.    

Additionally, EUBP Comms coordinated the responses to several requests by journalists, organizations, and companies regarding detailed information on different aspects of bioplastics.  

For more information or questions concerning the communications activities of EUBP, please contact Oliver Buchholz (buchholz@european-bioplastics.org).

Seedling Logo

Together with the certification bodies it has been decided to include a ban of PFAS in the next version of the certification scheme, which is planned to be published in spring 2022. 

The advisory committee on the Seedling met on 3 December 2021, discussing issues of disintegration testing, substances for the positive list, and how to deal with oxo-degradable additives. The next meeting will be on 4 March, at 2:00 pm. 

For more information on the Seedling Logo or the Certification Scheme, please contact Constance Ißbrücker (issbruecker@european-bioplastics.org). 

Events

In November, EUBP Event Management finalized the organization of the EUBP Conference including participants’ management, technical planning as well as streaming requirements. The event platform was finalized, and EUBP provided support to the exhibitors in creating their digital exhibition stands. Last conference materials were produced, final participants list created, and name badges were printed. EUBP decided to implement a 2G+ event and informed all participants accordingly. On 30 November and 1 December, the conference took place at the MOA hotel and online. After the conference, invoices were checked, presentations uploaded and sent to all participants. All videos from the sessions were uploaded to the conference platform.  

For more information or questions concerning the annual conference and further EUBP events, please contact Denise Valdix (valdix@european-bioplastics.org or conference@european-bioplastics.org).

Projects

BIOnTop (Project month: 30 of 48) 

https://biontop.eu/ (BBI-JU)  

In December, the BIOnTop consortium met for the month 30 General Assembly (virtual meeting) to inform about the status of the project and the progress of the individual work packages. The project partners also discussed the most recent preliminary results, potential delays/deviations, and provided an outlook on the upcoming most important tasks and deliverables.   

 In the next six months, the project will tackle the processing and production of mono- and multilayer films that will eventually result in the envisioned packaging solutions for fruits and vegetables as well as for dairy and personal care products. The processing of nets as well as the development of textile fibres and fabrics for packaging will also be addressed in the next six months. EUBP is responsible for dissemination and communication tasks as well as mapping and monitoring relevant regulatory and standardisation issues.  

BIOMAC (Project month: 12 of 48) 

https://www.biomac-oitb.eu/ (Horizon 2020) 

EUBP and the University of Thessaloniki finalised all official amendments and contracts for IBB to join the project consortium and take over the project’s Single Entry Point (SEP) tasks, which were originally assigned to EUBP. EUBP will still be involved in standardisation and regulation issues and supports the project’s exploitation and dissemination activities. Tasks and activities on standardisation and regulatory issues will commence at the beginning of 2022, which EUBP will lead together with other relevant project partners. 

PRESERVE (Project month: 12 of 48) 

https://www.preserve-h2020.eu/ (Horizon 2020) 

The first quarter of the 4-year project has been completed. In December, the consortium met for the month 12 General Assembly to discuss the current progress of the work packages as well as the tasks and deliverables of the upcoming project phase. The project aims to develop upcycled and bio-based packaging solutions. As the project’s Communication Manager, EUBP has finalised and submitted (in December) the project’s training plan (deliverable 8.3) which sets out a structure for knowledge transfer activities and educational sessions throughout the project. These activities are to ensure that the project’s research data and findings are made available according to the Open Data Management Principles of EU-funded projects. EUBP will oversee the organisation and execution of the planned training activities.  

EUBP will also take an active part in exploring cooperation options and cluster activities for the PRESERVE project. A focus will be a close cooperation between PRESERVE and two Horizon 2020 sibling projects, UPLIFT and upPE-T, which receive funding from the same call (CE-BIOTEC-09-2020: Upcycling bio-plastics of food and drinks packaging). In the next months, stronger collaboration on regulatory/EU policy and standardisation issues are envisioned. 

BIOSUPPACK (Project month: 6 of 42) 

https://biosuppack.eu/ (BBI-JU) 

Status of project partnering, other HORIZON 2020/EUROPE projects, and proposal/grant agreements: 

With the opening of new calls in the upcoming HORIZON EUROPE framework focussing on the development of bio-based and/or biodegradable products, in December 2021, EUBP entered several potential collaborations and project proposals. Here EUBP offered its support as potential partner responsible for communication and dissemination activities, networking, or regulatory affairs and standardisation issues. The proposals will be further defined and eventually submitted at the beginning of 2022. 

For more information or requests concerning EUBP’s project involvements, please contact Christian Schulz (schulz@european-bioplastics.org).

Planned activities

Regulatory Affairs: 

• Response to the Commission’s public consultation on a Policy Framework Communication on Bioplastics 
• Further political outreach on the EUBA JRC LCA position 
• Further political outreach at MS and EU Level on PPWD 
• Preparation of content for response to public consultation on recycled content in FCMs 

Communications: 

• Update EUBP publications with market data 2022 
• Update EUBP website (market data 2022, policy part) 
• Development generic posts for social media scheduling tool  

BON Europe: 

• The next web meeting will take place in the second half of January 2022. 
• Further individual meetings with BON members 

PG Bio-based: 

• Next PG meeting on 25 January 2022  
• Start TF Projects 

PG Biodegradables: 

• Next PG meeting on 11 January 2022, at 9:00pm   
• Development of position on anaerobic digestion 

WG Standardisation: 

• Monitoring the work of CEN/TC 261 SC 4 WG 2 and the revision of EN 13432 
• Seedling Logo: 
• Next ACS Meeting on 4 March 2022 
• Update certification scheme 

Projects and Networks: 

• Further assessment and definition of potential project proposals for new Horizon Europe calls 
• Update overviews on regulatory frameworks and standardisation efforts for PRESERVE, BioSupPack, and BIOnTop in H1/22 

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

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