100% bio-based and biodegradable microbeads for cosmetics developed by Bio-on Bio-On S.p.A., an Italian developer of bio-fermentation technologies for biodegradable materials and industrial applications, has developed a new formulation, called Minerv PHA Bio Cosmetics (type C1), that is designed to make 100% bio-based and biodegradable microbeads suitable for the cosmetics industry. The plastic micro [...]
EU Parliament report on revised waste legislation emphasises the role of bioplastics in the transition to a circular economy Press Release Berlin, 8 June 2016 – European Bioplastics (EUBP), the association representing the bioplastics industry in Europe, welcomes the draft reports on the revised EU waste legislation by MEP Simona Bonafè, Rapporteur of the [...]
EUBP stresses importance of improving waste management on land to solve the problem of marine litter Press Statement Berlin, 6 June 2016 – In a recent report on ‘marine plastic debris and microplastics’ published earlier last month, the UNEP describes the sources and effects of plastics and microplastics in the oceans and outlines potential [...]
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 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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Organic recycling Compostability is a clear benefit when plastic items are mixed with biowaste. Under these conditions, mechanical recycling is not feasible, neither for plastics nor biowaste. The use of compostable plastics makes the mixed waste suitable for organic recycling (industrial composting or anaerobic digestion), enabling the shift from [...]