Op-ed by Hasso von Pogrell, Managing Director, European Bioplastics On 12 April 2016, at the bioeconomy stakeholders’ conference BioEconomyUtrecht2016, the Working Group on Public Procurement of the European Commission’s Expert Group for Bio-based Products published 15 recommendations for an increased uptake of bio-based products in public procurement programmes. The report includes a range of promotional [...]
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 [...]
InnoviaFilms sells Celophane business to Futamaura: Earlier in April 2016, InnoviaFilms announced it had signed an agreement with Japanese plastics manufacturer Futamura Chemicals Co Ltd to sell its Celophane business and assets, including its NatureFlex bioplastics film production. Innovia Group, which manufactures high-tech film products for industrial applications and banknotes says it will further strengthen [...]
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 [...]