From 2023 onwards, separate collection of bio-waste will be mandatory across Europe in order to increase the overall amounts of separately collected waste and to help meet the ambitious recycling targets set out in the new EU waste rules. Yet, the separate waste collection systems (including for bio-waste) still vary widely among the 28 [...]
On 21 March 2018, Member of the European Parliament Franc Bogovič (EPP) hosted a breakfast debate on 'Biodegradable mulch films: Reducing environmental impact of plastics in agriculture‘. The aim of the workshop was to provide the EU institutions with scientific information about the technology of biodegradable plastics, in particular their benefits in agricultural applications [...]
On 16 January 2018, the European Commission published its Communication ‘A European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy’. According to the Commission, this proposal is an ambitious step towards making the European plastics system more resource-efficient and drive the change from a linear to a circular system. Bioplastics provide crucial impulses for innovation [...]
In February 2018, the district of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, located in a historic part of Barcelona, introduced a door-to-door separate waste collection system as part of the Zero Waste Strategy of the municipality. The project aims to minimise the quantity of waste sent to landfill and, more importantly, to involve citizens in order to make [...]
Last October, the European Parliament voted in favour of the use of biodegradable mulch films in the revision of the EU Fertilisers Regulation. Biodegradable mulch films have been available on the EU market for many years, meeting a high level of acceptance among European farmers. They play an essential role in modern agriculture as [...]
In each issue of the Bioplastics Bulletin, we present 5 facts about a member of European Bioplastics. This month, Patrick Schiffers, CEO of Synvina, shares some information on the joint venture between BASF and Avantium with the aim to become the market leader in FDCA and PEF. Patrick Schiffers, CEO, Synvina 5 [...]
PHA from sewage sludge enters demonstration phase: The Phario project produces PHA at the biological sewage treatment plant in Bath, the Netherlands, which is run by the Brabantse Delta water board. The processes required for purifying sewage water breeds bacteria that can produce 0.47 grams of PHA per gram of organic matter in the [...]
Revised legislative package on waste acknowledges that bioplastics play a key role in achieving EU recycling goals Berlin, 28 February 2018 – The provisional agreements reached by the European Council and Parliament on the EU waste legislative package published by the Commission in 2015, recognise the benefits of bioplastics. The new legislation acknowledges that [...]
The European Commission has recommended EU-wide measures be taken against so-called ‘oxo-degradable‘ plastics. In a report published earlier this month, the Commission said that "a process to restrict the use of oxo-plastics in the EU will be started". European Bioplastics (EUBP), the association of the bioplastics industry in Europe, strongly welcomes this clear commitment [...]
Companies in the food sector are increasingly looking for alternatives to conventional plastic packaging to reduce their CO2 footprint and are switching to packaging solutions made from renewable raw materials. A team at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands is studying the perceptions of bio-based packaging among consumers and aims to give manufacturers [...]
