On 7 April 2016, the European Parliament Intergroup on ‘Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development’ invited a group of policy-makers and experts from regional authorities, NGOs and other stakeholders along the plastics value chain to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the role of plastics in the circular economy at a meeting entitled "The [...]
In 2013, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) was entrusted to set up a Bioeconomy Oberservatory with the task to perform a comprehensive environmental sustainability assessment of various bio-based products and their supply chains using a life-cycle perspective. In November 2015, JRC published its report on the 'Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Bioeconomy Products [...]
Partnership between BASF and Avantium to produce FDCA and PEF Earlier this year, BASF and Avantium announced their plans of a joint venture for the production of furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and polyethylenefuranotate (PEF) from renewable resources. FDCA is the essential chemical building block for the production of PEF, which is particularly suitable for certain food [...]
The recent report by the World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation on ‘The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics’ provides an overarching vision of a global circular plastics economy in which bioplastics play an essential role in decoupling the economy from fossil resources and help to return nutrients to the soil. [...]
Following on from the successful events of the past years that reflected the growing confidence in plastics solutions that are bio-based, biodegradable, or both as a viable alternative to conventional plastics, the 11th European Bioplastics Conference has now been confirmed to take place on 29/30 November 2016 at the Steigenberger Hotel Berlin, Germany. The [...]
The new wording of the French implementation decree on single-use plastic bags, which was published by the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy on 1 February 2016, sets out clear requirements for the reduction of single-use plastic bags in favour of bio-based, biodegradable and home-compostable bags, in line with the EU Directive. [...]
In each issue of the Bioplastics Bulletin, we present 5 facts about a member of European Bioplastics. In this issue, Dr Norbert Schmitz, Managing Director of ISCC Systems GmbH shares some information about his certification system. Dr Norbert Schmitz, Managing Director ISCC System GmbH 5 facts about ISCC System GmbH (International Sustainability [...]
Certified bio-based and compostable coffee capsule for Nespresso systems Original Food GmbH presented a certified compostable coffee capsule for Nespresso systems at Biofach 2016 trade fair earlier in February. With the launch of the capsule, the producer of the renowned Kaffa wild coffee underlines its commitment in environmental protection and sustainability, including the entire [...]
Tetra Pak to deliver 100m plant-based packs in 2016: Tetra Pak has announced that they expect to deliver more than 100 million of their Tetra Rex Bio-based to customers during 2016. It is the world’s first package made entirely from plant-based materials. When launched in 2015, it immediately became a success and is now [...]
EU Bioeconomy Strategy Launched and adopted in 2012, Europe’s Bioeconomy Strategy addresses the production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into vital products and bio-energy. The strategy is needed to ensure that fossil resources are replaced with sustainable natural alternatives as part of the transition to a [...]