Biomass used for energy and materials is, on the one hand, one of the key mitigation options to reach the 1.5 °C GMT (Global Mean Temperature) target set in the Paris Agreement, as highlighted by the IPCC’s reports (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and many other key analyses. On the other hand, particularly in [...]
In its efforts to tackle the challenges related to waste, overpackaging, and sustainable production, the European Commission not only introduces additional regulations, such as the Single-use Plastics Directive, but also focuses on revising existing legislation. A milestone in the EU’s approach to respond to the environmental challenges we are facing is the revision of [...]
Read below a guest article by Hasso von Pogrell, Managing Director of European Bioplastics which was recently published in the anniversary edition of the Japanese BioPlastics Association journal. During the past years, the environment for bio-based as well as biodegradable and compostable plastics in the European Union (EU) has become more and more dynamic. [...]
At the end of last year, the European Commission has started to revise the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) and its Essential Requirements. After the implementation of the Single-use Plastics Directive (SUPD) which came into effect in July, this revision could mean additional far-reaching changes for the whole plastics industry. In a three-month [...]
Constance Ißbrücker, Head of Environmental Affairs at European Bioplastics e.V. The Single-use Plastics Directive (SUPD) coming into effect on 3 July 2021 will not only ban several plastic applications, such as cutlery, plates or drinking straws from the market. It will also prohibit all products made from so-called oxo-degradable plastics. The Directive [...]
SUP Directive Guidelines: a long list of inconsistencies and questions left unanswered With almost one year of delay on the timetable set by the Single-Use Plastics Directive, the long-awaited Guidelines have been finally published at the end of May 2021. From now on, the document will represent the vademecum for the activities of both the national [...]
It was already for the sixth time that the annual Bioplastics Week opened its virtual gates. During 17 and 21 August 2020, the social media campaign aimed at increasing visibility for bioplastics by driving digital conversations. The activities were coordinated by the Plastics Industry Association’s (PLASTICS) Bioplastic Division. The campaign used social media posts [...]
Almost a year has passed since the European Parliament and the European Council adopted the Single-use Plastics Directive (SUPD) in summer 2019. In order to comply with the SUPD, Member States (MS) have two years to bring into force the necessary laws, regulations and administrative provisions. Now, with the deadline ending on 3 July [...]
In 2019, there was a strong, quite single-minded push against plastics in general from many civil society organisations as well as from major players in the media, and politics predominantly switched to this opinion. Long before the Covid-19 outbreak, industry associations expressed great reservations as to whether the restrictions included in the Single-use Plastics [...]
Since the entry into force of the Single-use Plastic Directive (SUP) in July of this year, the precise implementation of the new EU regulation is flanked by many question marks. In particular, a big question remains with regard to the ‘more sustainable material alternatives’, which potentially will substitute the plastic elements in the products [...]
