Dear members,

Please find below an overview of the activities of European Bioplastics throughout November/December 2018. 

Regulatory Affairs (WG REGA)

With regard to the draft directive on ‘Marine pollution and the reduction of single-use plastics’, the three trilogue meetings took place on 6 and 28 November as well as on 18 December. They were flanked by several technical meetings in the Parliament (EP) and COREPER meetings of the Council. The process was declared final on 20 December during an Environment Council meeting. The Austrian presidency announced on Twitter that the trilogue ended with an agreement. The Council and the Commission (EC) have both published press releases, though they don’t go much into detail.

European Bioplastics met with dozens of representatives of EP, EC and the Member States (MS). We sent several mailings and tried to gain exemptions for single-use plates and cutlery in closed loop systems. In the last phase of the process it was essential to safeguard the definition of biodegradable plastics suggested by the EP in order to differentiate our materials from oxo-degradable plastics, which are to be banned in the new directive. EUBP called on the Bioplastics Organisations Network Europe (BON Europe) to share our joint arguments with the respective country’s environment ministry during the entire trilogue phase.

At the end of the trilogues, however, it became very clear that there was no strong willingness to make exemptions for compostable plastics. The ‘ban / reduction bound’ attitude of EC and EP is likely to be fuelled by EU elections coming up in May 2019.

We cannot yet provide a detailed account of the outcomes, as the official documents have not been published.

However, roughly it may be said that:

• a definition of biodegradable plastics will be included
• a definition of oxo-degradable plastics will be included
• oxo-degradable plastics will be banned
• biodegradable plastics are most likely be treated like conventional plastics (included in the scope of the directive)
• plates and cutlery will be banned
• cups will need to be reduced, the definition of a target lies with the MS.

Please note that the legal basis of this directive is the environment title, which gives some implementation freedom to MS.

Also there are several points that might result in gaining exemptions for biodegradable plastics at MS level:

Art 11 article on food hygiene
Art 15 mentioning an assessment of LCAs of all types of materials
Art 3 the aforementioned definition of biodegradable plastics

The implementation of this directive will be tricky, and our arguments to exempt biodegradable plastic in closed loop systems (be it plates, cutlery or other items) could still be heard on national level – especially when food hygiene is concerned. A closed system after all prevents littering, and this is the main goal of the directive.

We will share a detailed analysis as soon as the documents are available, which we hope will be sometime in January 2019.

WG REGA: the next WG REGA meeting is taking place on 29 January in Brussels.

Product Groups

Product Group Biobased

The new land use estimation has been finalized under the umbrella of TF1 and was presented at the EUBP conference in the beginning of December.

TF1 and PG Biobased will strengthen their focus on the LCA of bio-based plastics also as the JRC project on alternative feedstock is getting into an intense phase. Two draft documents have been published: Draft report 1 includes the meta-analysis of the selected existing studies, which are predominantly about bioplastics and, furthermore, the draft method for the LCA of plastics. Draft Report 2 describes the selected relevant case studies and the according screening LCAs to test the methodology. The plastic applications, which have been chosen for comparison, are beverage bottles, flexible food packaging film, mulch film, insulation material, and car interior panels. The reports have been discussed in a workshop on 29 and 30 November in Brussels in which EUBP and several members participated. Furthermore, a written consultation of the documents was possible until 19 December. EUBP submitted consolidated comments of member companies together with a cover letter voicing several concerns regarding the approach of the JRC and the possible outcome of the project.

The final ten products on which a full LCA will be carried out will be decided on in January. Most likely there will be another call for data after the decision has been made.

EUBP has decided to join the Plastic leak Project carried out by Quantis in 2019. The idea of the project is to develop a methodology to measure the leakage of plastics in the framework of the circular economy. It will evaluate and develop scalable solutions to reach a near-zero leakage. The outcome of the project will help companies to move from assumption-based to fact-based actions and create a community of leaders committed to solving the visible and invisible plastic leakage. EUBP members who have given an additional financial contribution to join the project will be informed regularly about the development in the upcoming months.

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 finalisation of the comprehensive Background Paper on biodegradable mulch films is on-going. The PG will furthermore develop a positive list of products related to all relevant environments of biodegradation.

On 8 November, the Advisory Committee of the Seedling met in Kraainem/Belgium at the premises of TÜV Austria to discuss the latest issues regarding the certification scheme. The new version of the scheme will be published in the first half of 2019.

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

Working Group Standardisation

The 3^rd draft for the new standard on home compostable carrier bag has not been published yet as expected. Whether there will be a web meeting to discuss it in the WG will be decided after the document has been shared by DIN. The next meeting of the according committee (CEN/TC 261/SC4/WG2) will take place on 18/19 February in Brussels.

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 November (pdf, 9,8mB) and December (pdf, 7,2mB) 2018.

In November, we conducted an interview with the business magazine Industry Europe about EUBP activities, as well as the benefits, potentials and challenges of bioplastics. The article will be published in the printed and online magazine as well as promoted on the Industry Europe microsites dedicated to these industry sectors – Packaging, Food & Beverage, Energy & Utilities, Automotive, Chemicals and Home Appliances. 

Additionally, we have been working on the draft of a tender for the European project BB-Circus jointly with the University of Bologna.

The WG Communications held a conference call to review the storyboard of the animated video on the benefits of bioplastics. The production activities will be resumed in 2019. The aim is to finish the video in the next couple of months.

In December, we have sent three press releases:

• The first press release focused on the launching of the new market data during the EUBP Conference. Additionally, the new market report and the market graphics were updated on the EUBP website.
• The second press release was sent out to inform about the big success of the conference.
• Finally, a third press release was sent on 20 December to communicate EUBP’s position regarding the EU Directive on single-use plastics.

Additionally, we have published an answer to the study “Land use mediated GHG emissions and spillovers from increased consumption of bioplastics” by the University of Bonn. It can be found here.

Events

The preparations for the 13th European Bioplastics Conference that took place on 4/5 December 2018 at the TITANIC Chaussee Hotel in Berlin were finalised in November. The exhibition hall was sold-out with 41 exhibitors. By the end of November, almost 400 participants were registered. A mailing with some conference highlights and a reminder to register for the event was released. Newsletter mentions and e-shots were distributed by various (media) partners. Conference materials were printed, bags packed and shipped.

The event put bioplastics in the spotlight for 420 senior executives from across the bioplastics value chain, including brands, policy makers, academia, and NGOs, by meeting the demand for more sustainable, resource-efficient, and functional solutions. The sold-out event once again confirmed its status as the leading business and networking platform in driving the growth and innovation of the global bioplastics industry.

Please save the date: The 14th edition of the EUBP Conference will take place on 3/4 December 2019 at the Titanic Chaussee Hotel in berlin, Germany.

For more information regarding the EUBP Conference 2018 and 2019, please get in touch with Joanna Wilde (wilde@european-bioplastics.org).  

Projects

On 20/21 November, the month 18 half-term project meeting of the PolyBioSkin consortium took place in Rome. On 22 November, European Bioplastics and other consortium partners had the opportunity to present the project to an international audience primarily composed of experts in the field of dermatology at a one-day Symposium on Bioplastics & Biopolymers of Medical Interest in connection with the 13^th World Congress of the International Society of Cosmetic Dermatology. PolyBioSkin also had the opportunity to present the project to participants at the 13^th European Bioplastics Conference in early December, establishing numerous new contacts with highly relevant interested parties and potential partners for the project. You can follow these activities on Twitter #polybioskin.

In mid December a consortium of which European Bioplastics is a member was notified by BBI-JU that their proposal responding to the H2020-BBI-JTI-2018 call topic BBI.2018.SO3.R10 — Develop bio-based packaging products that are biodegradable/ compostable and/or recyclable has been favourably evaluated and will be entering the Grant Agreement Preparation stage.

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

Planned activities January 2019

• WG Regulatory Affairs:
  • Evaluation of SUP trilogue outcomes
  • Evaluation of dossiers and priorities for 2019
  • Organisation EUBA meeting on 15 January in Brussels
  • Organisation of REGA meeting on 29 January in Brussels
  • Bioplastics Organisations Network Europe – meetings 2019
• Position regarding bioplastics LCA (TF1).
• Finalisation of Fact Sheet Mechanical Recycling and drafting of Fact Sheet Chemical Recycling (TF2).
• Background Paper on bio-based building blocks (TF3).
• Finalisation of the Background Paper on biodegradable mulch films (PG Biodegradables).
• Positive list for biodegradable materials in different environments.
• Publication of PolyBioSkin newsletter.
• Resuming production of the bioplastics video clips.

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