Castelldefels, Spain, 17 July 2017 – The EU-funded PolyBioSkin project commenced work on the development of biopolymers for high-demand skin-contact applications. At the end of June 2017, the project consortium, comprising of 12 partners, including European Bioplastics (EUBP), met in Castelldefels in Spain for the kick-off meeting hosted by project coordinator IRIS to discuss [...]
Berlin, 13 July 2017 – Today, the European Parliament’s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) adopted its report amending the European Commission's proposal for a revision of the Fertilisers Regulation. In its report, the IMCO Committee acknowledges the innovative potential of biodegradable mulch films, which provide positive agronomical effects and help to [...]
At the beginning of this year, the European Commission published its EU Roadmap for a Strategy on Plastics in a Circular Economy. Consultations and discussions around some of the most important issues to be covered by the Strategy on Plastics have already started, showing the complexity of the initiative as well as the need [...]
While there is no specific bioeconomy legislation, funding for bioeconomy research and innovation is a key policy tool for promoting the bioeconomy. EU funding mechanisms include notably the HORIZON 2020 framework programme, the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI). Some 5.6% (EUR 4208 million) of the [...]
The EU bioeconomy makes up an important part of the total economy in the EU. In 2014, it employed around 18.6 million people and generated approximately EUR 2.2 trillion. This means that the bioeconomy represents around 9% of all sectors of the economy with regards to employment as well as to turnover. These are [...]
As set out in the amemdment of the EU Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste from 2015, the European Commission was tasked to assess the impacts of so-called “oxo-degradable” plastics on the environment and propose “a set of measures to limit their consumption or to reduce any harmful impacts“. To inform the Commission’s decision [...]
When EU leaders gathered in Brussels at the beginning of March to discuss how to generate growth, create jobs and improve competitiveness in Europe, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, set out his vision of Europe - a vision in which bioplastics are a concrete example of the pioneering innovations of the [...]
Berlin, 14 March 2017 – European Bioplastics (EUBP), the association representing the bioplastics industry in Europe, welcomes the positive outcome of the European Parliament’s plenary vote today on the waste legislation proposal concerning the EU Circular Economy Package. The vote of the Members of Parliament recognises the contributions of bioplastics to the EU circular [...]
Spain announced plans to ban the sale of lightweight oxo-degradable bags from 2018 onwards under a new law drafted by the Spanish agriculture and environment ministry. The law implements an EU directive to reduce the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags. The draft also includes a minimum price on plastic bags above 15 microns [...]
At the end of January 2017, the European Commission published their Roadmap for a Strategy on Plastics. François de Bie, Chairman of European Bioplastics, welcomed the Roadmap and said in a statement: “An EU Plastics Strategy is needed to drive continued change in the plastics industry towards an innovative, sustainable, and resource-efficient economy”. “The [...]