Dear members,

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

Board and Members Meeting

The Board met virtually on 9 January 2023. Main topics on the agenda included a debriefing of the EUBP Conference from 6 / 7 December 2022 and the subsequent Members Meeting a week later on 13 December. Discussed were also the progress of setting up and staffing the office branch in Brussels, as well as the engagement strategy regarding the PPWR and other legislative measures coming from Brussels.

The next Board Meeting is scheduled for 7 February (online).

For more information regarding Board meetings, please contact Hasso von Pogrell (pogrell@european-bioplastics.org).

Regulatory Affairs (WG REGA)

The WG REGA met on 18 January (online) to discuss the latest developments on the Commission’s proposal for a revised Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).

The proposal has now moved to the Parliament and the Council (co-decision process / ordinary legislative procedure). During the Council Meeting on 20 December 2022, the Commission presented the PPWR proposal and the Commission's Communication on a Policy Framework for biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics to the Council. In the meantime, the Commission has launched a public consultation on the PPWR proposal to gather feedback from stakeholders, which will be consolidated in a report provided to the Parliament and the Council. The consultation is open until March 2023 (the deadline is currently being extended until the proposal is available in all European languages). The feedback is limited to 4,000 characters. EUBP is currently developing a position as well as proposed amendments to the Commission's legislative proposal focussing on the agreed key concerns, including (1) the definition of ‘material recycling’ in Art. 8 in order to avoid a ‘ban through the back door’, (2) the lack of promotion of biobased content to count towards recycled content targets, (3) the hurdle for innovative materials to reach requirement to ‘be recycled at scale’ by 2035 (+5 yrs), and (4) the hurdle for innovative materials to reach the recycled content targets in the envisioned timeframe. A first draft was shared with WG REGA on 17 January with the request to REGA members to provide further input and feedback before 25 January. EUBP will then set up an ad-hoc task force to finalise and fine-tune the proposed amendments to the proposal as well as a position. The group also discussed a potential outreach strategy to other networks and associations as potential allies on certain issues as well as to relevant policymakers in the EU institutions with a particular focus on MS representations in the Council as well as key MEPs in the Parliament.

In early January 2023, EUBP provided feedback and additional input to the Commission’s public consultation on the upcoming revision of the rules on food-contact materials, which closed on 11 January. The position will be made available on the EUBP website and shared in the January edition of the EUBP newsletter.

WG REGA will meet bi-weekly in 2023. The next meeting will be held on 23 February online.

As of 1 January 2023, Roberto Ferrigno is the new Head of Policy Affairs and Head of the EUBP Brussels branch office, leading the WG REGA and the development of EUBP’s overall engagement strategy. 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).

EUBA - European Bioeconomy Alliance

EUBP is leading a newly set up working group within the European Bioeconomy Alliance (EUBA) on the Circular Economy Package II 2022 and in particular the PPWR. The working group met on 12 January 2023 to discuss the Commission’s legislative proposal and to identify common concerns. The group is currently developing a position paper, which will be circulated for review and feedback to all EUBA members, incl. EUBP. Potential follow-up actions that are also being considered are the publication of the paper as well as outreach to key decision makers in the Council and EP, including a parliamentary event. EUBP will inform the WG REGA group about the progress and position of EUBA on these issues and tasks.

EUBP also hosted the regular EUBA operational group meeting on 19 January 2023 (monthly rotating host from EUBA membership) where current policy developments were discussed, including Taxonomy, and PPWR. The group also discussed various ongoing outreach actions to the European Commission, Parliament, and Council to share the EUBA scientific report on the benefits of the bioeconomy as well as best-cases from EUBA members (WG REGA was involved in the development of both papers in 2022). EUBA is planning at least one larger event in 2023 to raise awareness for the bioeconomy and the profile of EUBA.

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

BON Europe

BON Europe met on 18 January 2023 online to discuss the most recent EU policy updates and their potential impacts on MS level policies, in particular the Commission’s proposal for a revised Regulation for Packaging and Packaging Waste. EUBP will coordinate the outreach to Member States directly with BON Europe members to share resources and align efforts. A closer collaboration is of upmost importance for national associations because whatever comes out of Europe will eventually influence all EU markets and has the potential to close the European market for BBCP for the foreseeable future. Outreach via the national associations will need to start asap in order to establish and strengthen the contact to key policy makers in those relevant Member States. EUBP will set up bilateral meetings with BON Europe members to develop individual outreach strategies. EUBP positions and background papers on high-priority issues will be translated and shared with national associations to assist in aligning messages and policy asks.

BON Europe will continue to meet once a month online. BON Europe members are invited and encouraged to participate in EUBP's WG REGA meetings.

For more information regarding BON Europe, please contact Katrin Schwede (schwede@european-bioplastics.org).

Product Groups

Product Group Biobased

Several members of EUBP have submitted comments on the second draft on the position paper with regards to mass balance approach for the use of biomass for polymers. The comments were discussed on 25 January but need to be continued on 10 February.

The report on sustainable sourcing and content of biobased plastics was published and will be discussed in the next meeting.

The board of EUBP has identified some topics which the association needs to further explore. The ones relevant for PG Biobased will be introduced and discussed in the next meeting.

The next meeting of PG Biobased is scheduled for 9 March 2023, 10:30 a.m. CET, online.

TF 2 on End of Life will already meet on 14 February.

For further information regarding biobased plastics, including sustainability issues and the work of the PG and TFs, please contact Constance Ißbrücker (issbruecker@european-bioplastics.org).

Product Group Biodegradables

As suggested by the Board, PG Biodegradables will look into some new to-dos for the next couple of months and the upcoming new working plan 23-25. The topics will be presented in the next meeting and are open for discussion.

The draft standard on compostable plastics in AD is finalised and is currently with the chairs.

The next meeting of PG Biodegradables will take place on 8 February 2023, 10:00 a.m. CET, online.

The TF REACH Polymer Registration met on 27 January discussing the criteria set by the CEFIC subgroup for the substances and monomers used for polyesters that should be exempted of the registration in the future. It is still possible to make additions/and changes to the list, which is supposed to be submitted to ECHA and the Commission in the next months. It will be requested that the list remains an open list. It will most probably be an Annex to the revised REACH. There are currently no further TF meetings planned but as soon as there will be relevant activities to be reported, another meeting will be scheduled.

The TF AGRI met on 25 January. The final steps of the Q+A document were discussed as well as a new document with guidelines for the application of soil-biodegradable mulch films, which still needs some work. The group also discussed several EU research projects dealing with mulch films. EUBP has reached out to the Papillons and the Minagris consortium to ask for closer cooperation. EUBP will furthermore strengthen its activities concerning the fertilisers regulation in the upcoming weeks. The next meeting of the TF will take place end of February.

For more information regarding PG Biodegradables, please contact Constance Ißbrücker (issbruecker@european-bioplastics.org).

Working Group Standardisation

The WG Standardisation met on 11 January. A new group chair (Francesco Degli Innocenti, Novamont) and vice-chair (Bruno de Wilde, Normec OWS) were elected. Another important item was the EC standardization request M/584 on the recycling of plastics and recycled plastics. EUBP will join CEN/TC 261 WG 3 to observe the activities concerning the recyclability and the design for recycling of plastics packaging. In the meeting, the group also discussed the activities in CEN/TC 261 SC 4 WG 2 regarding home composting standards and the ongoing revision of EN 13432. The Policy Framework for biobased, compostable, and biodegradable plastics mentions the need for a revision of EN 13432, but this is not mentioned in the proposal of the PPWR. It was also discussed that the policy framework foresees a possible revision of EN 17033, which might include looking into biodegradation in aquatic environments. EUBP decided to react as soon as a mandate will be published. For the near future this is, however, not expected.

CEN/TC 411 WG 4 is currently developing a standard with guidelines for a comparison of biobased and fossil-based products in LCA. EUBP and members are actively contributing to the first draft versions.

Please refer to the minutes of the meeting for further details.

CEN/TC 411 WG 4 is still looking for LCA experts and will meet again on 21 and 22 February in Berlin. CEN/TC 261 WG 3 will meet on 7 February, SC4 WG 2 on 9 February (both virtually).

On 17 January, EUBP participated in a meeting of the German plastic associations active in standardisation to discuss relevant developments in the industry, such as the EC request and the recently published DIN standardisation roadmap for the circular economy.

WG Standardisation will meet again on 7 March 2023 to discuss further developments.

For more information on standards for bioplastics, current standardisation processes, and certification of bioplastics, please contact Constance Ißbrücker (issbruecker@european-bioplastics.org).

Communications

Please find under the following link a selection of relevant media clippings from January 2022 (online).

In January, the Comms team welcomed a new team member, Sandrine Ishimwe (ishimwe@european-bioplastics.org). She already supported EUBP during the conference in December. However, in January, Sandrine was officially introduced into her regular tasks and responsibilities as a Student Assistant. She will take over several tasks related to the entry of new members as well as the maintenance of the EUBP data base. She will also support different other Comms-related tasks, including social media, the EUBP Newsletter, and different research work.

EUBP Comms has initiated the editorial process for the EUBP Annual Report 2022, which will be presented during the next Members Meeting in June 2023.

In coordination with EUBP’s new Head of EU Affairs; Roberto Ferrigno (ferrigno@european-bioplastics.org), and the EUBP Management, Comms also drafted a press release on Roberto’s job start on 1 January 2023. The PR was published on 29 January.

EUBP Comms has also started the update process for several key graphics. Besides minor additions in the descriptions and indications in the graphics’, the visuals will be mainly adjusted to EUBP’s new PPT design.

Throughout the month of January, EUBP Comms responded to several media inquiries, including the approval of copyrights and background information on bioplastics. Amongst other things, this work included a background meeting with EUWID on the market data and the current regulatory environment for bioplastics. Furthermore, Comms coordinated and itself conducted additional interviews and meetings with the media and researchers.

For more information or questions concerning the communications activities of EUBP, please contact Oliver Buchholz (buchholz@european-bioplastics.org).

Seedling Logo

The Advisory Board for the Seedling met on 13 January. Among other topics, the new communication around the Seedling Logo was discussed. EUBP plans to come out with a new wording (industrially compostable) and some additional information for consumers in the next months, most probably together with the new version of the Seedling certification scheme.

The next meeting of the Advisory Board of the Seedling Scheme (ACS) is scheduled for 14 April 2023, 2:00 p.m., online.

For more information on the Seedling Logo or the Certification Scheme, please contact Constance Ißbrücker (issbruecker@european-bioplastics.org).

Events

European Bioplastics Conference

In January, the new location for the 18th conference has been found. The conference will take place on 12-13 December 2023 followed by the members meeting on 14 December at the Titanic Hotel in Berlin.

Furthermore, the invoicing process of the 17th conference as well as wrap up of the suppliers has been completed.

The organisation of the General Assembly and networking event in June 2023 has also started, and the location scouting in Brussels is still ongoing.

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).

Projects

Estela López-Hermoso and Chiara Bearzotti are the EUBP project managers since September 2022. European Bioplastics is currently a consortium partner in four EU funded projects: two projects funded by the Horizon 2020 Programme and two projects funded by the Bio-based Industries Consortium together with Horizon 2020. Moreover, EUBP participates in Austrian-funded project, NETmicroplastics, which will run until October 2025. EUBP is also involved as Advisory Board Member in several EU and national funded research projects.

In January, BIOMAC celebrated its month 24 project meeting, marking the half-way point of the project. It delved around the achievements so far of the five test cases of the Open Innovation Test Bed on biobased nanotechnologies (automotive, construction, agriculture, printed electronics, and food packaging). An Open Call has been launched in December 2022 to add five new test cases to the project. The call is open until April 2023.

EUBP is leading a Policy Working Group for the H2020 sister projects upP-ET and Uplift and is task leader on Policy and Standardization in PRESERVE. A meeting to discuss synergies and potential activities was organised. The three projects will work on a common policy brief to be shared with stakeholders in the second half of 2023.

Additionally, PRESERVE receives support by the Horizon Result Booster, a service funded by the European Commission to help projects on key aspects such as Communication and Dissemination, Exploitation of Results, or Standardisation. PRESERVE is clustered in a group with the EU funded project upP-Et and a Marie Curie programme called REWIND on the topic of Communication and Dissemination. A common video pill, a flyer and a policy brief will be published by April 2023.

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

Regulatory Affairs

• Develop strategic outreach to Parliament and Council regarding PPWR proposal
• Develop position and concrete proposals for amendments to the PPWR proposal
• Develop response to the Commission’s public consultation on the PPWR proposal (February)
• Lead EUBA ad-hoc working group on PPWR proposal incl. develop position on PPWR proposal
• Continue outreach to Commission and Member States on Microplastics Act
• Next REGA meeting on 23 February 2023
  

Communications

• Update EUBP publications
• First round of input to annual report 2022 to be provided by 10 February
• Update and adaption EUBP graphics, e.g. coordinate system or closing the loop

BON Europe

• Set up bilateral meetings between EUBP and national associations to develop individual outreach strategies on the PPWR revision
• Next meeting on 23 February (online, after EUBP WG REGA meeting)

PG Biobased

• Position paper on mass balance approaches
• Collect information on biobased additives (TF3)
• TF 2 meets on 14 February, other TF meetings to be scheduled
• Next meeting PG Biobased 9 March 2023 (online)

PG Biodegradables

• PP Anaerobic Digestion
• Draft Q&A document on soil-biodegradable mulch films (TF Agri)
• Update European Composting Landscape
• Next meeting PG on 8 February 2023

WG Standardisation

• Monitor revision process EN 13432 and activities in relevant WGs of CEN/TCs 249 and 411
• CEN/TC 411 WG 4 project on comparative LCAs
• CEN/TC 261 WG 3 meeting on 7 February
• CEN/TC 261 SC 4 WG 2 Meeting on 9 February 2023
• CEN/TC 411 WG 4 Meeting on 21/22 February 2023
• Next WG Meeting on 7 March 2023
  

Seedling Logo

• Finalisation of the new version of the CS
• Finalize extended communication instructions of the Seedling Logo
• Next ACS Meeting on 14 April 2023
  

EU Projects

• SAMSARA project proposal preparation meeting on 2 February 2023
  
• BIC (Biobased Industry Consortium) Project Matchmaking event on 9 February 2023
  
• PRESERVE M24 project meeting on 14-15 February 2023, Valencia
• BIOnTop Online Training “Safety and risk management for novel products and processes on 7 March 2023 (Module 1)
• REPurpose project advisory meeting on 9 March 2023
  
• BIOnTop Specific risks for BIOnTop novel products and processes on 4 April 2023 (Module 2)

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.