EarthFirst Films by PSI produces first PHA home compostable packaging film EarthFirst Films by PSI, a global bioplastic film technology and manufacturing company, announced in an 18 May statement the successful completion of the first commercial run of PHA - polyhydroxyalkanoate - home compostable packaging film. Although the PHA materials have been certified, the film will go through [...]
In each issue of the Bioplastics Newsletter, we present some facts about a member of European Bioplastics. This month, Levin Batschauer, Sales Manager Bioplastics, Business Unit Compounding, Recycling, and Battery of Coperion GmbH, shares some interesting insights on his company. 5 facts about Coperion, Germany Coperion is an international technology leader in compounding and extrusion systems, feeding and weighing technology, bulk material handling systems and services. It designs, develops, manufactures, and [...]
Constance Ißbrücker, Head of Environmental Affairs at European Bioplastics e.V. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has evolved to be the preferred tool to assess the environmental sustainability of certain products and materials. Recently it has also been used with great enthusiasm to compare bio-based with fossil-based plastics. It seems to be an easy instrument to draw [...]
Contrary to popular belief, certified, industrial compostable organic waste bags neither bear harm for soil or human health, nor do they contribute to the problem of microplastics, as experts underline. On the contrary, they convey chances for a higher quality and quantity of collected organic waste. Read in the following a guest commentary by the Verbund kompostierbare Produkte e.V. (Association for Compostable Products / “Verbund”). For many years now, the [...]
On 3 March 2021, the EUBP webinar “Organic recycling within the circular economy: the role of compostable plastics” explored the contribution of biodegradable and compostable plastics to help the EU to meet its organic waste recovery targets by the end of 2023. In order to establish a truly circular economy, the EU needs to capture this untapped potential by collecting and organically recycling this waste into high value compost for soil enrichment. In her welcome statement, our host MEP [...]
For quite some time now, the European Commission (EC) is putting a special focus on biodegradable and compostable polymers when assessing the general role of bioplastics. This becomes obvious when looking at the number of related EU studies and reports that had been published in 2020. The last publication in this regard was the [...]
Yum China launches plastic reduction and sustainable packaging initiatives Yum, the operator of fast-food chain KFC and restaurant brand Pizza Hut announced new environmentally friendly packaging initiatives that are expected to reduce its amount of non-degradable plastics by approximately 8,000 tonnes annually starting this year. Some of the initiatives include replacing existing plastic packaging [...]
This year has already seen quite an impressive number of studies, reports, and additional publications related to bioplastics that were published by the European Commission (EC). Most of them contribute to the development of a framework for bioplastics included in the EC’s Circular Economy Action Plan. For the bioplastics industry, a clear framework is [...]
Berlin, 17 December 2020 – This week the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) published a report, entitled “Biodegradability of plastics in the open environment”. The report identifies applications of biodegradable polymers which contribute towards achieving a circular economy and tackle the challenge of managing the EU’s waste. “We are pleased to see that [...]
LEGO Group to invest up to US$ 400 million for sustainability and social responsibility initiatives The LEGO Group announces plans to invest up to US$ 400 million over three years to accelerate sustainability and social responsibility initiatives. The investment will cover both long-term investments and ongoing costs. As a next step, the company will [...]
