Dear members,

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

Board Meeting

The Board meeting took place in-person on 15 March at the EUBP office in Brussels. The focus was on drafting a new vision for the association based on where the industry would ideally be in 2050. The availability and possible reallocation of financial and personnel resources also with respect to possibly supporting selected national associations in view of the upcoming Council presidencies was discussed at length.

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

Regulatory Affairs (WG REGA)

The WG REGA met on 9 March as well as on 29 March (both hybrid/virtual) to discuss the latest developments on the Commission’s proposal for a revised Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which has been defined the top priority for the group this year.

The Commission’s proposal for a revised Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) has now moved to the Parliament and the Council (co-decision process / ordinary legislative procedure). There seems to be agreement among all political groups in the European Parliament to finalise the interinstitutional negotiations by 2023 or, at the latest, by Q1/2024. 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 May 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 will submit input based on the position paper and proposed amendments. In the meantime, EUBP was able to schedule meetings with MEPs Ries (Renew, rapporteur ENVI), O’Sullivan (Greens), and Toja (S&D, ITRE rapporteur), and Regimenti (EPP) (now replaced by MEP Salini, EPP). Detailed debriefs of the meetings were shared with REGA members via email and discussed during the meetings. Particular interest and request for further input and evidence was raised on the issues around coffee capsules as part of the positive list of Art. 8 (compostable plastic packaging) and EUBP's policy ask for a biobased content target equivalent to the recycled content targets set out in the PPWR.

Most important in the Council will be the Swedish Presidency and the Council Working Group on the Environment. The Swedish Presidency has announced in the Work Programme to move rather fast on the file. The Environment Council has met on 16 March to discuss, amongst other topics, the Commission’s PPWR proposal (EUBP sent a briefing note to all Environment Attachés ahead of the meeting). EUBP has requested meetings with all Perm Reps to discuss our position on the PPWR; a first meeting with Hungarian Attaché Adam Gosztonyi took place on 29 March. The EU Council Working Party on Environment has met on 30 March to discuss the PPWR proposal and in particular the recycling targets. EUBP shared the position paper on the call for a biobased content target equivalent to recycled content with all Perm Reps ahead of the meeting.

The following position papers and briefings were developed (and published) to support EUBP's outreach regarding the PPWR proposal:

• position on the Commission's legislative proposal for revised rules on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR)
  
• proposed amendments to the Commissions PPWR proposal
  
• position on a biobased content target equivalent to the recycled content targets set out in the PPWR,
  
• position on the inclusion of coffee capsules in the positive list for compostable plastic packaging (Art. 8 as part of the PPWR)
  
• position on the effects of compostable plastics on mechanical recycling streams (i.e., cross-contamination) is currently being developed by the Product Group Biodegradables

EUBP will work closely with the members of BON Europe to reach out to representatives of the upcoming Council Presidency holders Spain and Belgium. In particular, EUBP is coordinating actions with ASOBIOCOM for upcoming Council Presidency (July-Dec 2023) to enquire about the priorities of the Spanish Presidency and potential actions/events/outreach. The same will be done together with the Belgian BioPackaging association BBP. EUBP will share all final position papers and proposed amendments with BON Europe members to make sure policy asks and messages are aligned.

Regarding the Commission's EU policy framework for biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics (published in November 2022), EUBP has published a comprehensive statement and Q&A on the framework, including key messages and a rebuttal of the most common misconceptions and misunderstandings around bioplastics. The statement can be found on EUBP website.

REGA also discussed the latest updates and next steps on other relevant policy files, including the Commission proposal for a Green Claims Directive (published on 22 March), the Commission’s public consultation on the proposal for an Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (open until May), and the Carbon Removal Certification.

EUBP applied to become an observer to the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention and prepared the application for EUBP representatives to participate in the second session of the UNEP Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-2) in Paris.

WG REGA will meet bi-weekly in 2023. The next meeting will be held on 6 April and 20 April, both in hybrid format (in person in the EUBP Brussels office and online via TEAMS).

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

The EUBA operational group has met on 24 March to discuss key policy issues and to coordinate and agree according activities. EUBP is leading a dedicated working group within the European Bioeconomy Alliance (EUBA) to define a common position on the PPWR. A draft position has been finalised and is currently being in approval process. The EUBA position reflects a number of EUBP’s key positions on the PPWR. 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.

REGA also agreed that EUBP will reach out to other associations and organisations, including RCI, ACE, EuropaBio, BIC, Plastics Europe, CEFIC/BioChem Europe, and others to develop a joint-industry position on the biobased content target in the context of the PPWR.

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

BON Europe

BON Europe has met on 9 March to share latest updates on relevant national policy developments and to discuss the ongoing revision of the EU rules on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR). EUBP is working closely with the members of BON Europe to reach out to representatives of the upcoming Council Presidency holders Spain and Belgium. Outreach via the national associations will need to start asap in order to establish and strengthen the access to key policy makers in those Member States. National associations were therefore urged to start reaching out to the respective experts in the responsible ministries. Further support should be called in from member companies of the associations and their networks to relevant decision-makers. EUBP has been in contact with ASOBIOCOM to coordinate a position and potential next steps such as the outreach to the Spanish Presidency ahead of July 2023 and a side-event in Q3/23. EUBP is working closely with BBP to organise an on-site visit to a Belgian composting facility for key MEPs.

EUBP will share its position and proposed amendments with all BON members to make sure messages and policy asks are aligned.

BON Europe members are invited to participate in EUBP’s WG REGA meetings. The next dedicated BON Europe meeting will be held on 6 April (online).

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

Product Groups

Product Group Biobased

PG Biobased met on 9 March for a regular meeting. One of the topics was the position paper on mass balance. The paper now refers to the definition of mass balance – in explicit contrast to “book & claim” - in line with ISO 22095 and is clear in distinguishing between the communication of “bio-based” and “bio-attributed” feedstock. After the meeting, the paper was finalised and sent to the Board for a final approval. The publication of the paper is expected for April.

The group further discussed the development concerning LCA for bioplastics. EUBP gave an overview on the work progress and chapters included in the standard currently prepared in CEN/TC 411 with focus on guidelines for comparative LCA. The group aims to publish a first draft by mid 2023 to start a commenting phase. The final standard is aimed to be published in 2024. EUBP will inform the EC about this timeline.

Another topic was the EU funded project LABPLAS. The project published a deliverable on a methodology to perform comparative LCAs of fossil-based and biobased plastics, based on the JRC LCA plastics methodology (due to its alignment with PEF), but making adaptions considering concerns by EUBA and EUBP. Apparently, the consortium is interested in an exchange with EUBP. The PG discussed whether and how to engage with this group. As it looks like this methodology has already been finalized, it is questionable how much influence EUBP could still have, thus how much time and effort the group should put into this. It was decided to have a brief call with the consortium to assess the issue. This call took place on 29 March. The representatives from LABPLAS explained that there was still room to adapt the methodologies when applied for their chosen case studies. It was agreed to stay in touch and cooperate further also in other projects.

A study on sustainable sourcing and content of biobased plastics, which served as input for the policy framework, was published on 30 November 2022. EUBP had compared the suggested sustainability criteria given in the study with the criteria taken up in the policy framework. Some criteria from the study that would be beneficial for our industry were not taken up. The group discussed whether or not EUBP should develop a position paper on sustainability criteria for biobased plastics and decided that a meeting with TF1 will be set up to kickstart the drafting process and to define what should go into the paper.

TF 2 has developed a draft position on equal treatment of biobased and recycled content. REGA took over to finalize it, and the position paper was published at the end of March.

In the PG meeting, EUBP raised the question of whether we need a position to counter claims that there were issues with biobased and biodegradable additives in regard to their toxicity. The group discussed this topic and came to the conclusion that reviewing questionable studies is time-intensive, not very fruitful, and that the issue lies more with Communication and Public Affairs and thus should be dealt with by those EUBP working groups.

PG Biobased has decided to increase the frequency of its meetings to every two months from now on.

The next meeting of PG Biobased is scheduled for 10 May 2023, 11:00 a.m. CEST, online.

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

During March, members of the PG Biodegradables gave input to the draft position on compostable coffee capsules which highlighted the need to make compostable coffee capsules mandatory within the revised PPWR. The draft was handed over to WG REGA, and the final document was published on 28 March.

Together with the Product Group Chairs, a draft position on biodegradable and compostable plastics in mechanical recycling stream was developed and shared with the group for feedback. The paper is based on the slide deck which was developed within the TF Recycling in 2022, containing the evaluation of a number of studies on this topic. The paper will be finalised in early April.

A basic set of messages on EUBP’s position on biodegradable and compostable materials in anaerobic digestion was developed with the PG Chairs and in principle approved by the Board. The paper will be further elaborated with the PG in April.

TF AGRI met twice this month, on 3 and 22 March, due to the current discussion around the Fertilising Product Regulation (FPR) and its possible uptake of soil-biodegradable mulch films. Representatives met with several stakeholders to better understand the EU Commissions reasoning. A position paper on why soil-biodegradable mulch films should be covered by the Fertilising Product Regulation is about to be finalised.

The next meeting of the PG Biodegradables will be on 17 May (virtual), TF AGRI will meet on 12 April (virtual).

For more information regarding PG Biodegradables, please contact Katharina Hinse (hinse@european-bioplastics.org).

Working Group Standardisation

WG Standardisation met on 7 March. EUBP informed about the current developments concerning the standardisation request M/584. EUBP has already joined CEN/TC 261 SC 4 WG 3. However, in the meantime, the development of the umbrella standards for plastics recyclability and design for recycling was moved to WG 10. WG 3 might start with the development of similar standards, but for all kinds of packaging materials, as the focus of this group is not plastics only, but material neutral. Due to the shift of the plastics related standards to WG 10, EUBP has started the application process for this group to actively follow the developments. It was suggested for individual members to also join their national mirror committees.

The group further discussed the status quo of the EN 13432 revision currently taking place in CEN/TC 261 SC 4 WG 3. One focus point was the work of the AD Task Force, which presented a report. The report gave the results from a survey on actual conditions in AD. The results of the survey illustrate that AD technologies are quite variable, and treatment of compostable packaging will give very different results depending on the technology applied. The WG discussed what could be the take-aways from this study. So far, EUBP’s position had been that there wasn’t a need for a separate standard for AD. Different options and the need for an internal document listing pros and cons of the different alternatives to get a better understanding of the advantages of each route, the challenges that might occur, and whether there are options to solve those, were discussed. This paper should also assess the options of classifying AD as either energy recovery or organic recovery, and which implications either of those options would have. EUBP had a call with M. Ricci to inform him about the support to develop a standard for a full-scale on-site test.

WG 2 met on 24 March to further discuss open points in the EN 13432 revision as well as the results of the second formal vote on FprEN 17428 (disintegration test method under home composting conditions), which was now approved.

WG Standardisation has also been informed about the status quo of the development of the draft standard “Bio-based Products — Life Cycle Assessment — Additional requirements and guidelines for comparing the life cycles of bio-based products with their fossil-based equivalents“ in CEN/TC 411 WG 4. The first draft to be shared publicly is supposed to be ready in the second half of 2023. In March, committee experts were asked to provide input on the different sections and the updated version is currently open for committee internal commenting until 10 April.

The next meeting of WG Standardisation will take place In June (date to be scheduled).

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

Communications

In March, the Comms team continued the editorial process for the EUBP Annual Report 2022, which will be presented during the next Members Meeting in June 2023.

EUBP Comms completed the update process for several key graphics. Besides minor additions in the descriptions and indications in the graphics, the visuals were mainly adjusted to EUBP’s new design. An additional graphic was developed to complement the different end-of-life options for bioplastics, utilizing the input of TF2 (End-of-life):

Comms also finalised and published all website content that includes market data, according to the latest data.

Additionally, Comms adapted the web design to fit the new design guidelines.

In March, Comms intensified the Social Media work, and started the promotion of the European Bioplastics Conference (EBC 23).

Throughout the month, EUBP Comms responded to several media inquiries, including the approval of copyrights and background information on bioplastics. A key issue was an article on compostable plastics in WMW. Comms successfully achieved to subsequently include EUBP comments to respond to some of the misconceptions and false claims in the article. Additionally, EUBP was able to agree with WMW on a separate interview including EUBP key messages, e.g., on biobased feedstock, the false claim related to contaminated plastic waste streams, etc., to respond in a more comprehensive way.

On 31 March, the Head of Communications, Oliver Buchholz, left EUBP. In order to organise Comms activities after his leave, Comms team and EUBP management had a planning meeting on 22 March. Several activities will have to be set on hold, including the media clippings and the regular distribution of the newsletter, due to the limited staff capacities. Other activities were redistributed amongst the remaining Comms team members and other colleagues.

For more information or questions concerning the communications activities of EUBP, please contact press@european-bioplastics.org.

Seedling Logo

The publication of the updated version of the Seedling Certification Scheme was delayed as there were recent changes made to ASTM D6400 which will be included to the Certification Scheme before publishing it. The final Certification Scheme will be published thereafter (June/July 2023).

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

In March, Events has been working on the publication of the EBC 23. The call for papers was sent out, and the registration has been opened.

The advisory board for our conference has been confirmed, and the advisory board for the conference award has been defined.

The organisation of the General Assembly in June and a networking event in September has started. Both will take place in Brussels, the GA on 6 June, and the Networking Event on 20 September.

In addition to the GA on 6 June, EUBP will celebrate the opening of the office in Brussels with an open house day on 5 June from 14:00 –18:00 h.

The booth design for the interpack in May has been adapted in order to reduce the waste of paper on-site, and a few samples have been found via our call for samples and giveaways to all members.

Two side events for EU projects during and after the Interpack have been organized.

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).

Speaking opportunities

EUBP Deputy Managing Director and Head of Environmental Affairs, Constance Ißbrücker, spoke about Recent Market Data and Current Policies in the European Union and Member States at the 8th International Seminar on Biopolymers and Sustainable Composites on 1 March 2023.

EUBP Head of EU Affairs, Roberto Ferrigno, joined the session FOCUS ON BIOPLASTICS LATEST POLICY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE EU of the 3rd Annual Bioplastics Innovation Forum on 1 March 2023.

EUBP Project Managers Chiara Bearzotti and Estela López-Hermoso moderated an online Q&A session regarding the BIOMAC open call on 7 March 2023.

On 15 March, EU Public Affairs & Policy Communications Manager, Katrin Schwede, gave a presentation on relevant EU policies, and in particular the EU policy framework for biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics at the IK (Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen) meeting of the bioplastics working group.

Projects

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, NETmicroplastic, which will run until October 2025. EUBP is also involved as Advisory Board Member in several EU and national funded research projects.

BIOMAC: EUBP has been promoting the BIOMAC Open Call whose main aim is to add five new test cases to the BIOMAC project. The BIOMAC Open Innovation Test Bed on biobased nanotechnologies currently counts five test cases: automotive, construction, agriculture, printed electronics, and food packaging. With this Open Call, BIOMAC will give SMEs, start-ups, Research & Technology Developers, Midcaps, and large companies the possibility to develop their own bionanomaterial project within BIOMAC’s unique open innovation test bed environment, for free. The BIOMAC open call offers the unique opportunity to access open innovation test bed free of charge and bring the bionanomaterial activities from lab stage to industrial prototype. The call is open until 30 April 2023. Find out more about this call.

A Q&A with German experts on this call was held on 7 March 2023, online, the presentation and the recording of this short session (30 minutes) are available on this page.

Parallelly, EUBP has been working in mapping the involvement of BIOMAC partners in relevant standardisation bodies at international and European level.

Find out more about BIOMAC goals and activities.

PRESERVE: On 14 and 15 February 2023, PRESERVE celebrated its 24-month project meeting in Valencia at the facilities of EUBP´s member AIMPLAS, marking the half-way point of the project. Partners took stock of the activities of the last months. PRESERVE is developing 10 demonstrators – 10 common packaging items that are 100% based on renewable resources –, five of them from secondary raw materials. The next project meeting will take place in July in Florence, Italy.

Find out more about PRESERVE goals and activities.

BIOnTop: The BIOnTop project has entered its final phase and will reach its end in May. EUBP is co-organising a workshop at InterPack Fair (10 May 2023, morning) “BIOnTop novel biobased packaging: from research to market? Meet the experts, explore business opportunities” is targeting potential industrial operators interested in taking up the project demonstrators: The BIOnTop demonstrators find potential applications in tea bags, trays, films, bags- and food wraps, as packaging for fruits and vegetables, dairy products, but also for personal care products. The goal of the workshop is to offer a dialogue with the experts and explore business possibilities through a matchmaking format. Registration is mandatory, and seats are limited.

The final BIOnTop event, the “Conference on Innovations on Sustainable Materials for Textiles, Coatings, Films and other wide use Applications”, with a focus on food contact materials and biobased packaging (11 May 2023), is a scientific conference for exchanging knowledge peer-to-peer, with R&D organisations working on the topics covered by the project. Several twin projects have confirmed their participation as speakers. Both events will take place in Düsseldorf. Registration is mandatory.

Find out more about BIOnTop goals and activities.

BioSupPack: The project is on hold at the moment, for the entire consortium. An amendment is in preparation (not related to the work of EUBP), and the project has been put on hold by the European Commission agency.

Find out more about BioSupPack goals and activities.

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

General

• Members meeting on the proposed Material Management Concept (MMC) to be held online on 20 April to collect feedback

Regulatory Affairs

• Develop strategic outreach to Parliament and Council regarding PPWR proposal
• Develop response to the Commission’s public consultation on the PPWR proposal
• Develop and submit input to the public consultation on the Commission proposal for Green Claims Directive published (deadline 26 May)
• Develop and submit input to the public consultation (call for feedback and questionnaire) on the Commission proposal for a Regulation on Ecodesign for Sustainable Products (deadline 12 May)
• Lead EUBA ad-hoc working group on PPWR proposal incl. develop position on PPWR proposal
• Set up bilateral meetings between EUBP and national associations (via BON Europe) to align and coordinate outreach regarding the PPWR revision
• Next REGA meeting on 6 April and 20 April
• Next BON meeting on 6 April

Communications

• Update EUBP publications
• Continue editorial process of the Annual Report 2022
• Prepare digital material for interpack

PG Biobased

• Finalise position paper on mass balance approaches
• Finalise draft position on biobased/recycled content (TF2)
• Collect information on biobased additives (TF3)
• Next meeting PG Biobased 10 Mayrch 2023 (online)
• TF meetings to be scheduled

PG Biodegradables

• Elaborate paper around key statements on Anaerobic Digestion
• Finalise paper on biodegradable and compostable plastics in mechanical recycling streams
• Finalise position on soil-biodegradable mulch films in the FPR (TF AGRI)
• Next meeting TF AGRI: 12 April
• Next Meeting PG: 17 May

Standardisation

• Monitor revision process EN 13432 and activities in relevant WGs of CEN/TCs 249 and 411
• CEN/TC 261 SC 4 WG 2 Meeting on 21 April 2023
• CEN/TC 261 SC 4 WG 3 meeting on 4 April 2023
• CEN/TC 411 WG 4 Meeting on 18/19 April 2023 (virtual)
• DIN mirror group “Biodegradable plastics” on 25 April 2023
• Next WG Meeting in June

Seedling Logo

• Discuss latest changes to the Certification Scheme (CS)
• Publish the extended communication instructions of the Seedling Logo (together with CS)
• Next ACS Meeting on 14 April

EU Projects

• BIOnTop Online Training “Safety and risk management for novel products and processes on 7 March and 14 March 2023
• REPurpose project advisory meeting on 9 March
• BIOnTop Workshop “BIOnTop novel biobased packaging: from research to market? Meet the experts, explore business opportunities” on 10 May 2023
• BIOnTOp final “Conference on Innovations on Sustainable Materials for Textiles, Coatings, Films and other wide use Applications” on 11 May 2023

Speaking opportunities

• EUBP Deputy Managing Director and Head of Environmental Affairs, Constance Ißbrücker, will speak about end-of-life options for bioplastics at the Ti Talks during interpack on 5 May.

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

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