Activity Report - December 2023 and January 2024

Please find below an overview of activities carried out by European Bioplastics throughout December 2023 and January 2024.

> Board
> Regulatory Affairs (WG REGA)
> EUBA - European Bioeconomy Alliance
> Seedling
> Sustainability and Environmental Affairs
> Communications
> Event Management
> EU-funded Research & Innovation Projects
> Planned activities

Board

During the period of December 2023 and January 2024, the Board met twice, once on 11 December 2023 and again on 23 January 2024 – both meetings were held virtually.  

In the December meeting, the Board agreed, among other, to establish Berlin as the principal location of the annual European Bioplastics Conference (EBC), which usually takes place in late November / early December of a respective year. In addition, as of 2025, EUBP is to organize regular political events to take place adjacent to the bi-annual Spring General Assembly in Brussels.  

The focus of the meeting in January was on electing a replacement for Lars Börger, who previously had announced his departure from Neste by the end of January, as Vice-chair. By unanimous vote, the Board elected Franz Kraus (Novamont) as Vice-chair to legally represent EUBP together with Mariagiovanna Vetere (NatureWorks) vis-à-vis external stakeholders until the upcoming rotational Board election in June 2024.  

Both meetings were succeeded by Board-internal strategy meetings with Donald Summers (Alruist) who had previously been engaged as an external consultant.  

For further detailed information, please refer to Hasso von Pogrell (pogrell@european-bioplastics.org)

Regulatory Affairs (WG REGA)

The WG REGA met on 7 December 2023 and 25 January 2024 to discuss the latest EU policy developments, with a focus and priority on the Commission’s proposal for a revised Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). The Task Force PPWR (TF PPWR) met on 11 January to further discuss the legislative evolutions in detail. 

A meeting of the Bioplastics Organisation Network Europe (BON Network) was organised on 7 December and followed by an informal coffee in the morning of the first day of EBC23. The structure and organisation of BON were discussed, just as a recap of EUBP’s Public Affairs activities in Brussels and a foresight into 2024. The BON members also shared their Public Affairs investment and priorities. 

We initiated the organisation of elections for the positions of Chair and Vice-chair of the WG REGA.   

Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation 

December 2023 and January 2024 were two crucial months for the PPWR negotiations. Albeit not easily, the Environment Ministers came to a general approach on 18 December 2023. In January, the interinstitutional negotiations began (trilogues) with a large number of technical meetings which should culminate in a first political trilogue on 4 February 2024. 

We continued to advocate for EUBP’s positions on mainly Articles 7 (recycled content and biobased content) and 8 (compostable packaging) with the Environmental Attachés. Unfortunately, the Council keeps only defending the status quo on compostable packaging and doesn’t seem genuine about installing a real incentive for biobased packaging. 

Once the general approach was adopted, EUBP also reached out to the Belgian Presidency to offer our support for the trilogues. Trilogues are never the best example of democratic transparent European procedure, and it’s always quite difficult to get first-hand information, but through one of the Parliament’s negotiators, we were able to participate in the debate. Indeed, we were able to cultivate the Political Advisor of the EP’s negotiator and worked with the TF PPWR to provide input on Article 7§11a and Article 8. EUBP’s positions on these two key points were sent to all negotiators around the table. 

Finally, we continued our cooperation with other trade Associations, such as EUROPEN, BioChem (Cefic), CEPI and EUBA on the file, providing us with some more layers of information in this very fast-moving file. 

Other policy developments 

In December 2023, we prepared our policy and regulatory affairs working programme for 2024. The draft working programme was compiled together with the REGA Chair and Vice-chair and nourished by comments and suggestions from the REGA members. It indicates the broad policy objectives and legislative priorities for 2024, divided in 1) files we actively monitor and engage and 2) opportunities for further advocacy depending on available resources. The complete EUBP Working Programme was presented and approved at the Members’ meeting in December 2024. 

Together with the Board and following REGA input, we finalised our EUBP Policy Manifesto that should feed into the next European policy cycle (2024—2029). In our policy manifesto, we call on the European Union to develop a comprehensive Biopolymers Industrial Action Plan to accelerate the growth of the bioplastics industry. 

EUBP joined Cepi and 11 other associations in a joint industry position on the Green Claims Directive. The statement was sent to the Green Claims negotiators, and EUBP helped to push the statement’s visibility in its communication.  

EUBP joined an informal coalition led by EuropaBio on the upcoming Biotech and biomanufacturing initiative. We are working on a set of basic principles that the whole coalition would use in its outreach on this initiative. We also agreed to continue to engage and share information once the initiative will be published by the Commission. 

The EUBP INC Team started to coordinate its efforts in preparation of INC-4 (April 2024, Ottawa). 

The next meeting of the TF PPWR will be held on 8 February 2024 and the next REGA meeting on 20 February 2024. 

For further detailed information on the work of the WG Regulatory Affairs, please refer to the slides and minutes of the last meeting or contact Roberto Ferrigno (ferrigno@european-bioplastics.org) or Julie Pieters (pieters@european-bioplastics.org).

EUBA - European Bioeconomy Alliance

We didn’t have an Operational Group meeting of the European Bioeconomy Alliance (EUBA) in December 2023 and January 2024.  However, we had an important person in the group leaving and met up for his sent-off and also exchanged on quite some dossiers through email.   

As EUBP is in the ‘lead’ on the PPWR file, we informed the members of the evolutions of the file and the need to continue to monitor and advocate for biobased content. We exchanged extensively with BioChem (Cefic) on the necessary link between biobased and recycled content. 

We also initiated an EUBA letter and position on the Net-Zero Industry Act stressing the importance of keeping biomaterials production technologies within the scope of the Regulation and proposing a compromise wording for the trilogues. We were able to get all members of EUBA on board, create a position paper, and send this to the negotiators.  

The EUBA Manifesto is now finalised and has been launched during the event entitled “Towards a sustainable future – what is the potential of the EU’s Bioeconomy” sponsored by EUBA and organised at the Euractiv studio on 30 November 2023. The dissemination of the manifesto has been a topic of discussion between the members of EUBA. 

As of 1 January 2024, EUBP became the TF Communications lead for the next 6 months. As part of this role, EUBP is responsible for social media posting as well as any other activity related to graphic design, events coordination, etc. EUBP has been relaying the position drafted on the NZIA on social media as part of a social media campaign.  

EUBA has been invited to participate as a speaker and exhibitor to the Bioeconomy Changemakers Festival organized by the European Commission. EUBP is coordinating the logistics of the participation as a speaker (branding materials, finding volunteers for the booth, installing and dismantling, etc).  

For further information on EUBP’s engagement within the European Bioeconomy Alliance, please contact Julie Pieters (pieters@european-bioplastics.org)

Seedling

The Advisory Committee Seedling (ACS) met on 16 January, where TÜV Austria Belgium took over the coordination of the meeting. The main topics discussed were Ecotoxicity testing on bleached paper, ISO 14851 – Oxygen consumption, Grade variabilities of PBAT, and Ecotoxicity testing for wet wipes.  

The next meeting of the ACS is scheduled for 12 April and will be coordinated by DIN CERTCO. 

For more information, please contact Marike Fronk (fronk@european-bioplastics.org) or Hasso von Pogrell (pogrell@european-bioplastics.org).  

Sustainability and Environmental Affairs

The WG SEA Working Programme was presented at the members meeting in December 2023 and adopted by the General Assembly. 

EUBP has been working on an update of the Position Paper (PP) on End-of-Life options for biobased plastics. The draft had been shared with the TF EOL, who commented and suggested edits. The document has been handed over to the WG Chairs and will be worked on further in February. 

EUBP and the former PG Biodegradables Chairs had drafted a Position Paper on AD. The new TF AD reviewed the Draft in November 2023. The group met on 5 December 2023 to discuss and finalise the paper. It was sent to the European Biogas Association to inquire whether they’d be able to endorse it. Unfortunately, this motion was unsuccessful, as the association has not formed a formal position on bioplastics yet and will not be able to do so for the foreseeable future. The TF decided to continue with the publishing process. The final draft was sent to the WG for approval on 19 January with the deadline of 26 January. The publication is aimed for February 2024. 

TF AGRI had several ad hoc meetings in early December 2023 to discuss EUBP’s interventions regarding the Fertilising Products Regulation (FPR). Following the Expert Group Meeting which EUBP joined as an observer on 28/29 November 2023, EUBP was able to set up a meeting with Theodora Nikolakopoulou, Policy Officer for fertilising products, DG GROW and Ana-Lucia Crisan, Legal Officer, DG GROW, and several experts on certified soil-biodegradable mulch films. The Delegated Act is aimed to be ready for a public feedback consultation for a period of four weeks with an ad hoc meeting at the end of it, in late January or early February. EUBP had the opportunity to respond to certain questions from the DG Grow Fertilising Products Team in December 2023. The draft is planned be finalised by mid-March and adopted in July 2024. The TF will meet on 14 February to discuss the next steps. 

For more information, please contact Marike Fronk (fronk@european-bioplastics.org) or Hasso von Pogrell (pogrell@european-bioplastics.org).

Communications

In December 2023, the Comms team finalised content for EBC23 and covered the conference live. We also sent out a press release on the market data that was unveiled and a post event press release. The Comms team also published a press release following the Environment Council meeting on 18th December 2023. 

Following the launch of the EU Policy Manifesto on January 25, 2024, the Comms team prepared materials to disseminate it, including a press release that was picked up by several news outlets and a social media campaign that is still running. The Comms team has started working on a video campaign to promote further the content of the Policy Manifesto through short videos of 1 min, highlighting the key points. The campaign is now being prepared. The team is drafting the scripts for the videos and will proceed to filming and editing, before posting on social media in the next weeks. 

The Comms team took the lead in coordinating and sharing EUBA’s position on the Net Zero Industry Act on social media.   

The Comms team also updated the market data across the website and continued to share it on social media as well. The Comms team is investigating multiple scenarios to have the website revamped. Providers have been contacted, and we are evaluating how long this process would take, what are the financial implications, and what are the steps to make this happen.  

In January 2024, the EUBP team has met with Euractiv’s environment and energy journalist, Nikolaus Kourmayer, in Berlin. While he isn’t immediately covering the bioplastics industry, he will be handed over a bigger portfolio of topics in the near future, alongside a relocation to Brussels and he is keen to stay in touch to discuss further when the time comes.  

For more information or questions concerning the communications activities of EUBP, please contact our new EUBP Communications Manager Marion Thérage (therage@european-bioplastics.org).

Event Management

In December, the implementation of the EBC 23 took place. The two days hybrid conference was a very successful event, with 380 participants and a sold-out exhibition area with 40 exhibitors. The feedback from our participants was very positive.  The online streaming provider, Swapcard, was also a success, and we will continue to use it for upcoming EBCs.  

The venue and date for EBC24 were also announced – Berlin Titanic Hotel, 10/11 December 2024. 

The presentations have been shared with all participants right after the conference as well as the uploaded session videos.  

For more information or questions concerning the annual conference and further EUBP events, please contact Denise Valdix (valdix@european-bioplastics.org or conference@european-bioplastics.org).

EU-funded Research & Innovation Projects

European Bioplastics is currently a consortium partner in five EU funded projects: two projects funded by Horizon Europe, two projects funded by the Horizon 2020 Programme, and one project funded by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU). Moreover, EUBP participates in an Austrian-funded project NETmicroplastic. EUBP is also involved as an Advisory Board Member in several EU-funded research projects. The website of EUBP has been updated with the latest information about the outcomes of these projects: https://www.european-bioplastics.org/research-projects/. Additionally, EUBP has started to feature some of the key technical results of these projects in its newsletter. 

Two new projects funded by Horizon Europe through the Circular Biobased Europe Joint Undertaking, MoeBIOS and ReBioCycle, have been recently approved! Both projects were set up to respond to the challenges of the call on “Recycling bio-based plastics increasing sorting and recycled content (upcycling)” (HORIZON-JU-CBE-2023-IA-04 ). Several members of EUBP are also involved in them as a partner. Congratulations to Novamont, Total Energies Corbion, AIMPLAS and to us, European Bioplastics for these successful initiatives. European Bioplastics will be mostly involved in the dissemination of results and bringing the inputs to the projects to the attention of EU policymakers. Both projects will start around summer 2024 and run for 48 months. 

Improving waste management of biobased plastics and the upcycling in packaging, textile and agriculture sectors (MoeBIOS) 

MoeBIOS is led by ITENE (ES) and counts 21 partners. MoeBIOS will develop three value chains incorporating separate recycling streams for bioplastics to improve waste management efficiency throughout Europe. The project will create linkages at the different key stages of the whole chain of waste management from the collection of the bioplastic waste (simulated streams), up to the upcycling and validation of the final recycled end-products (holistic and coordinated solution). The newly created value chain will imply sorting, conditioning, and valorising three types of waste streams from the packaging, agriculture and textile industries into three end-products, targeting to reach at least the same quality and functionality as the original grades, while the end users’ acceptance will be assessed as well.  As cornerstone targets for maximizing the project’s impact, the upscaling of the recycling processes will be integrated in pilot plants on the premises of actual industrial recycling lines currently operating in waste management companies, not disrupting them, and reaching a final TRL 6- TRL 7, or even beyond. MoeBIOS will focus on bioplastics for which recycling processes are still not in place, excluding bio-based analogues (“drop-ins”): PLA and PLA blends, PHA and its blends, PBS and PEF. The use of PBAT will be assessed as well.  
European Bioplastics is involved in the implementation of the MoeBIOS multi-actor approach (MAA) to engage waste producers, waste managers, bio-based and (bio)plastics industry, public authorities, standardization agencies, consumer associations and media multipliers, creating a co-creation and co-ownership environment feeding into the technical work packages. MoeBIOS is funded by the European Union through the Circular Biobased Europe Joint Undertaking.  

A new European blueprint for circular bioplastics upcycling solutions (ReBioCycle) 

ReBioCycle is led by the University College Dublin and counts 20 partners. ReBioCycle will develop a portfolio of novel bioplastic sorting and recycling technologies within three complementary waste-processor-centric hubs. Within these hubs, ReBioCyle will test the  novel recycling technologies on three types of bioplastics (e.g., PLA, PHA, Mater-Bi) to demonstrate how it is possible to obtain recycled polymers of equal or superior grade.  The tree hubs will be established for demonstrating different technologies and technology readiness levels (TRL) and will be located in the Netherlands, Italy and Spain. The hubs will focus on chemical technology and enzymatic recycling to be scaled up to TRL 6 and 7. ReBioCycle will verify the industrial grade specifications of PLA, PHA, Mater-Bi and demonstrate them in real-world products, e.g., durable and multi-use packaging. The LCA analysis and tailored dissemination and exploitation plans will facilitate the uptake of ReBioCycle key exploitable results European Bioplastics is involved in the dissemination and exploitation activities. NOVAMONT and Total Energies Corbion are two of the technical partners. ReBioCycling is funded by the European Union through the Circular Biobased Europe Joint Undertaking.

European sustainable biobased nanomaterials Community (BIOMAC) 

BIOMAC has established a collaborative ecosystem where technologies and solutions utilising nano-enabled and/or biobased materials (NBMs) across several test beds are developed up to TRL 4-5 and later upscaled and prepared for market applications, up to TRL 7. Currently, BIOMAC is focusing on four testbeds: food packaging, construction, automotive, and printed electronics.  

BIOMAC is organising the “Polymers 2024—Polymers for a Safe and Sustainable Future” conference in collaboration with the MDPI open access journal Polymers, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Exelisis Co. The conference will be held in Athens, Greece, on May 28–31, 2024. Polymers 2024 is an international conference that will explore the latest advances in polymer science to produce safe and sustainable materials, with unique properties for human health and environmental sustainability. The conference will also discuss clean, green, and efficient production processes, life cycle assessments, exposure, risk assessment, decontamination and environmental remediation, and novel techniques for polymer recycling and reuse. Polymers 2024 is a unique opportunity for polymer scientists from around the world to present their work and innovations in polymer chemistry and technology under the view of sustainable development. The deadline for the abstract submission is 19 February 2024. https://www.mdpi.com/journal/biomass/events/16713 

The review of the BIOMAC project was performed in Padova on 1-2 February 2024. 

The project is planning to close its activities at the end of 2024. 

Click here to find out more about the BIOMAC achievements and activities. 

High performance sustainable bio-based packaging with tailored end of life and upcycled secondary use (PRESERVE) 

• On 11 December 2023, EUBP organised a workshop on The future of biobased packaging. Co-designing a Roadmap to 2030 back-to-back with the EUBP Conference. The goal of the event was to present the latest results of the PRESERVE project and to initiate a co-design process for a 2030 Roadmap on the future of sustainable circular biobased packaging, for which EUBP is responsible, with the participation of stakeholders including representatives of the European Commission, of industry, and research. The event was honoured with the presentation by Ms Sylvia Maltagliati (European Commission) and a panel discussion with Kees Joziasse (Total EnergiesCorbion), PRESERVE´s scientific coordinator, Dr. Kristina Eißenberger (ASU), and Charles van Reij (Craddle2Craddle). To round up the event, Estela López-Hermoso moderated a mini workshop with break-out groups around two questions:  
• Where should research focus on? Design and recyclability at scale, from the design of the product to the recycling providing material back into the value chain, was a key area needing more focus in the future. The need for more collaborative efforts between research and industry to develop added value products ranked also high. 
• Which products and technologies is the market missing and needing? 4 main areas missing from an industry and consumer point of view were identified: 1. Better separation and recycling technics; 2. Investment in raw materials; 3. Incentives for bioproducts instead of fossils and; 4. Sustainable concept that consumers understand, and more transparency.  
• On the 17-18 January 2024, PRESERVE held its General Assembly meeting in Ghent, hosted by Normec OWS and Centexbel. Project partners gathered to recap the activities of the last 6 months and to plan ahead for the next 6. EUBP provided a summary of the activities performed and the updated plans on Training, Dissemination, Communication (update of deliverables in December 2023), Policy and Standardization, including the efforts regarding the 2030 Roadmap. Partners also discussed the efforts needed for the 2nd Technical report due in March and the upcoming Second Project Review on 21st March 2024, online.
• EUBP is currently coordinating efforts by four EU projects (PRESERVE, BioSuPPack, upP-ET and, Uplift) to draft a Policy Brief on Upcycling that will be presented at a Policy Briefing at the European Parliament in 2024 (exact date tbd). EUBP signed a Sponsorship Agreement with the European Bureau for Conservation and Development, the organization in charge of the European Parliament Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, that will host the event. This work is part of the efforts EUBP is carrying out as lead on a Working Group on Policy Issues with the other EU projects. 
  

Demonstrative process for the production and enzymatic recycling of environmentally safe, superior and versatile PHA-based rigid packaging solutions by plasma integration in the value chain (BioSupPack) 

BioSupPack aims at upscaling novel, economically convenient, and high-performing biobased rigid packaging solutions based on PHA, also suitable for being recycled and recovered. 

On 13 December 2023, alongside the EBC23, EUBP organised together with experts of the Albstadt Sigmaringen University (ASU), a world café workshop of one hour on The next challenge in packaging: How to choose between different bio-based polymers? How can Life Cycle Assessments be used to evaluate their ecological sustainability? A report is going to be published soon in open access, an update will be provided with the next newsletter. 

Click here to find out more about BioSupPack goals and activities.  

NETmicroplastic 

NETmicroplastic’s aim is to tackle multiple facets of microplastic in soil. NETmicroplastic specifically focuses on fruit and vine growing, on composting, and on finding ways of reducing the use of plastic products in vineyards and orchards without compromising product quality and performance. EUBP supports the project with mapping activities, stakeholders, strategies, policies, and dissemination. The project is coordinated by the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT). The project is funded by the Lower Austria research ministry to foster collaboration between 11 core network partners from four European countries. The project is organising a series of webinars around the microplastic topic. Anyone can participate and attend, previous registration:  https://www.net-microplastic.eu/events/ 

If you are interested in joining the NETmicroplastic network, it is possible to sign up for several activities here.  

Click here to find out more about the NETmicroplastic project. 

Novel packaging films and textiles with tailored end of life and performance based on bio-based copolymers and coatings (BIOnTop) 

The BIOnTop project has been successfully closed. The research teams have been able to develop diverse packaging formats using new copolymers and innovative barrier coatings. Several blends were produced that were optimized to be biodegradable under home composting conditions. The research has led to enhancement of end-of-life (EoL) solutions, including improved biodegradability, especially in home composting conditions. The teams have also managed to introduce a cost-effective, environmentally friendly method for producing PLA copolymers with tailored EoL properties.

Additional results have also explored the polymer crystallinity to understand the relationship between polymer structure, mechanical properties, and biodegradability; the creation of a dual barrier against humidity and oxygen using whey protein and bio-based fatty acid coatings.  Finally, machine learning methods have been applied to develop predictive models for biodegradation and disintegration. 

The results in open access are being gradually published on the European Commission Cordis platform. In this project there have been several interesting scientific publications on PLA and PBSA, you can check them out on Cordis:  https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/837761/results 

Click here to find out more about the BIOnTop recent publications and results. 

Are you planning new project proposals for research and innovation? We would like to be partner up with you! 

If you are planning a research and innovation project proposal, we would like to be your partner. We are specifically interested in joining new calls related to the development of new biobased polymers and co-polymers, but also on pre-normative activities on biobased materials and on novel packaging solutions. EUBP is keen on joining as your consortium as a partner for outreach, dissemination, and policy engagement. Please get in touch if you are interested. 

For more information or requests concerning EUBP’s involvement in EU-funded projects, please contact Chiara Bearzotti and Estela López-Hermoso (euprojects@european-bioplastics.org).

Planned activities

• Coordinate EUBA’s participation in the Commission’s event 
• Finalise 2024 Budget Finalise and publish misconception landing page 
• Continue the campaign to spread the EU Policy Manifesto 

Sustainability & Environmental Affairs 

• TF Agri Meeting, 14 February 2024 
• FPR public consultation (expected to open at the beginning of February at the latest) 
• TF EOL Meeting, tbd 
• Finalise and publish PP on EOL 
• TF AD Meeting, tbd 
• Finalise and publish PP on AD 
• Set-up of new TFs tbd and scheduled 
• WG SEA meeting, end of February / beginning of March tbd 

Seedling Logo 

• Next ACS Meeting on 12 April 2024 

Research and innovation Projects 

• April 2024 (tbc): Policy Briefing at the European Parliament on EU Projects Upcycling technologies  
• 21 March 2024: PRESERVE Second review Meeting 

EUBP events and speaking opportunities 

• 1-2 February 2024: EU Project Manager, Chiara Bearzotti, one of the speakers at the BIOMAC review meeting, Padova 

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

Disclaimer

The information transmitted by this email is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed. This email may contain proprietary, business-confidential, and/or privileged material. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, be aware that any use, review, retransmission, distribution, reproduction, or any action taken in reliance upon this message is strictly prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from all computers.