In each issue of the Bioplastics Bulletin, we present 5 facts about a member of European Bioplastics. In this issue, Dr Berit Topolsinski, Product Manager at DIN CERTCO Gesellschaft für Konformitätsbewertung mbH based in Berlin, Germany, shares some information about the certification and accreditation body. Dr. Berit Topolinski, Product Manager, DIN CERTCO 5 [...]
The EU Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste, as modified by the EU Directive on lightweight carrier bags in 2015, tasked the European Commission to adopt specifications for labels of home compostable plastic carrier bags. Accordingly, in June 2016, the Commission asked the relevant European Standardisation Committee, CEN, to develop a standard on home compostable [...]
New policy frameworks, market developments, innovative products and materials Press Release Berlin, 15 September 2016. With less than 80 days to go, the preparations for the 11th European Bioplastics Conference on 29/30 November 2016 in Berlin are in full swing and the speaker line-up for the two-day event features some exciting new faces and innovations. The 2016 [...]
Rethinking plastics – first speakers confirmed for this year’s European Bioplastics Conference With less than 100 days to go, the preparations for the 11th European Bioplastics Conference on 29/30 November 2016 in Berlin are in full swing and the speaker line-up for the two-day event is filling up nicely. The 2016 edition of the leading [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
Since January 2015, separate collection of organic waste is mandatory in Germany. The implementation, however, has been rather slow, and not all municipalities provide separate biowaste collection schemes yet. The German association for compostable products ‘Verbund kompostierbare Produkte e.V.’ therefore recently called for municipalities to implement the separate collection of biowaste and support the [...]
EU Circular Economy Package In December 2015, the European Commission published the Circular Economy Proposal, which is an important step towards closing the carbon loop in Europe and making sure resources are not wasted but re-enter the economy by design or intention. Bioplastics play a key role in [...]
Relevant EU policies Representing the interests of the entire value-chain of biobased, recyclable, and biodegradable/compostable materials and products, European Bioplastics (EUBP) proactively contributes to ongoing discussions and works closely with the EU institutions to ensure a fit for purpose legislative framework in Europe for bioplastics to thrive in. [...]