Dear members,

Please find below an overview of the activities of European Bioplastics throughout July and August 2018. 

Internal Organisation

Unfortunately, in August 2018 we had to say ‘goodbye’ to Katrin Schwede who left the association to take up a new challenge. We wish her all the best!

We are currently in search of an adequate candidate to replace her – until then, I will be the contact for any issues concerning communication.

Hasso von Pogrell (pogrell@european-bioplastics.org)

Regulatory Affairs (WG REGA)

On the Directive for the reduction of Marine Litter - Single Use Plastics and Fishing Gear, we developed our position paper and corresponding amendments and shared these with the Commission, the Parliament and the Council. In July and August, we met first representatives of these institutions including Directorate Generals (DG) Research, Environment, and Agriculture, several European Parliament shadow rapporteurs on the file, as well as the Member State representatives of Lithuania, Denmark, Romania, Czech Republic, and Luxembourg. The report of the European Parliament (ENVI Committee, MEP Frédérique Ries, BE/ALDE) was published in late July and will be commented by several opinion committees over the summer and until early September. EUBP will continue its engagement in September and October through the opinion committee phase and will review the amendments provided to the Ries-report. The Council is picking up its work on 10 September with a first ‘after summer working party meeting’. The Austrian presidency is very ambitious with regard to this file and would like to finalise it until the end of its term (December 2018). With the file being very vague in many points, this ambitious timeline is debatable. The following Romanian presidency might well have to take on this file afterwards.

On 13 September, the European Parliament’s plenary is going to vote on the final report on the Plastics Strategy of rapporteur Mark Demesmaeker (BE/ECR). EUBP will share a voting recommendation with key representatives in the different political groups by 10 September. The report is very likely to be accepted.

With regard to the Fertilisers Regulation, unfortunately the trilogues between Commission, Parliament and Council seem to have resulted in a compromise between Commission and Parliament, stating that the standard EN 17033 is not sufficient yet and that a harmonised standard is needed. A corresponding recital asking for a mandate to CEN to develop such a standard has been developed. The overall process is not at its end as a major political issue (Cadmium levels) is still open. However, our parts of the file seem to have been ‘closed’. We will keep you updated should any further opportunities arise with respect to this dossier.

European Bioplastics will evaluate further initiatives of the Commission stemming from the Circular Economy Package Action Plan on the topic of essential requirements for packaging, product policy, and eco-modulation of fees with respect to extended producer responsibility. We will keep you updated should any of these files produce relevant opportunities for our industry.

WG REGA will meet next on 18 October. The September meeting took place on 5 September in Brussels. 

For detailed information on the work of the WG Regulatory Affairs, contact Kristy-Barbara Lange (lange@european-bioplastics.org). 

Product Groups

Product Group Biobased

On 11 July, the JRC requested EUBP to send input on their long-awaited LCA study “Comparative Life-Cycle Assessment of alternative feedstocks for plastics production“. EUBP submitted information on market data, materials, microplastics in compost, recycling of bioplastics, ILUC, and a list of relevant literature not yet mentioned in the reference list shared in the call for data.

EUBP is an Advisory Board member of the H2020 RIA Project STAR-Pro-Bio, which is developing sustainability assessment tools for bio-based products. On 22 June, a focus group webinar took place titled “Priorities for sustainability assessment factors for bio-based products” in which EUBP was present and provided input that is relevant for our industry.

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

Product Group Biodegradables

PG Biodegradables has established a new taskforce on the issue of marine biodegradability called “TF Marine”. The TF aims to discuss open issues with regard to biodegradable plastics in the marine environment, for example our positioning regarding the standardisation in this field. A first web meeting took place on 23 July.

The PG has also been working on a new Background Paper on biodegradable mulch films. All comments have been collected, and the finalisation of the paper is planned for the end of September,

Working Group Standardisation

On 31 July, EUBP participated in an informative web meeting of CEN/TC 249/WG 2, dealing with strategic aspects and coordination of all standardisation activities in the field of plastics relating to environmental aspects. The secretary has also shared a strategic position paper prepared by the CEN/SABE ENV team called “Standardisation needs in the area of plastics and microplastics in the environment“. EUBP has submitted comments on this document as it contained some questionable remarks, especially on biodegradable plastics and the according standardisation.

CEN/TC 261/SC4/WG2 has shared the second Working Draft of “Packaging – requirements and test scheme for home compostable carrier bags”. The deadline for the submission of comments is 28 September. EUBP will examine this document and send comments if considered necessary. EUBP furthermore has commented on three documents prepared in ISO/TC 61/SC14 called “Plastics – Carbon and environmental footprint of biobased plastics” (ISO/DIS 22561): “Part 1 General Principles”, “Part 2 Material carbon footprint, amount (mass) of CO₂ removed from the air and incorporated into polymer molecule”, and “Part 3 Process carbon footprint, requirements and guidelines for quantification”.

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 at the following link a selection of relevant media clippings from July and August 2018.

The WG Communications is happy to announce the production of the two animated videos on the benefits and end-of-life options of bioplastics has begun. The storyboard will be finalised and agreed upon in September 2018. The aim is to finish both videos in the next couple of months.

For more information or questions concerning the communications activities of EUBP, please contact Hasso von Pogrell (pogrell@european-bioplastics.org).

Events

The registration for delegate tickets and exhibition spaces for the 13th European Bioplastics Conference taking place on 4/5 December 2018 at the TITANIC Chaussee Hotel in Berlin is in full swing. Several (media) cooperation initiatives were conducted over the summer, encouraging delegates and potential exhibitors to get involved.

We finalized the collection and evaluation of submitted abstracts in August. The program compilation is now in full swing. A sneak-peak mailing is planned for mid-September. The final agenda will be released at the end of the month.

We are happy to announce also BASF and OWS joined the group of sponsors for the conference.

If you too would like more information about the European Bioplastics Conference or discuss how to get involved this year, please get in touch with Joanna Wilde (wilde@european-bioplastics.org).  

Projects

With the submission deadline for proposals responding to call H2020-BBI-JTI-2018 coming up on 6th September, EUBP has been working with its partners on the submission of selected project proposals in relevant areas. A key focus is on call topics relating to bio-based and biodegradable/recyclable packaging and bio-based coatings.

The on-going BBI project PolyBioSkin is making good progress towards its goal to produce functionally improved bio-based, biodegradable skin-contact applications in the biomedical, skincare, and sanitary field. All due project deliverables have been delivered and project milestones have been reached.

Planned activities July 2018

• WG Regulatory Affairs:
  • Plastics Strategy: voting recommendation for plenary vote (13/09), preparation of press release;
  • Marine litter / single-use plastics: engagement programme with EP and Council, monitoring of opinion reports and EP report, as well as Council compromise document.
• Position regarding bioplastics LCA (TF1)
• Finalisation of Fact Sheet Mechanical Recycling and drafting of Fact Sheet Chemical Recycling (TF2)
• Background Paper on bio-based building blocks (TF3)
• Finalisation of the Background Paper on biodegradable mulch films (PG Biodegradables)
• Update of Fact Sheet Standardisation
• New market data evaluation (in cooperation with nova-institute)
• Submission of project proposals under the H2020-BBI-JTI-2018 call (as consortium partner)

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