The bioplastics industry in Europe hopes to see more policy support for the sector from the EU, as costs and investments remain a concern even though demand from the packaging sector is growing, European Bioplastics' EU Policy Affairs manager, Julie Pieters told Argus.
We have seen some regulatory support from the EU for the recycling industry with content targets, particularly in the Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulations (PPWR), but is there any legislation that is in the works to support bio-attributed and bio-based plastics?
At the moment the only thing we have in place is a communication from the European commission in 2022 on bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics. But this is only a communication.
In the Packaging and Packaging Plastic Waste Regulation (PPWR) there is a legislative hook for bio-based plastics. In principle, the review needs to be done by 2028 but the European Commission told us that it would like to do it before 2027. They would need to do a review of where the bio-based plastics market is today, and based on that they could begin a legislative proposal for bio-based content in plastic packaging, setting targets and seeing if bio-based content can be used to count towards recycled content targets that are already in place. Some applications of plastic packaging will also be marked as having to be made compostable. EU member states can also make this list of products longer if they wish to, so some bioplastic examples are also showing real opportunities in the field. There has also been some talk from people about having bio-based targets in other sectors like the automotive or construction field. A great example of this would be in the end-of-life vehicle regulation (ELV) proposed by the EU. Bio-based targets on plastics in cars is still in trilogues [a trilogue is a negotiation between the European parliament, the council and the European commission] so we would have to wait to see what comes out in the final directive.
What are the hurdles that bioplastics producers are facing, both in Europe and globally?
I think the European bio-plastics industry faces similar hurdles to other European industries — trade hurdles, investment hurdles, competition with other regions in the world. We developed a lot of the bioplastics technology in Europe but the industrialisation can often take place outside of Europe because of lower energy costs and investment opportunities.
I think also policy support can help to boost the sector both in Europe and globally. We have had members of the association want to invest in Europe but in the end they have ended up going to other regions because the market is just bigger. I don't think the support mandated from the EU and the clarity for producers in Europe is not quite there yet, especially when it comes to encouragement in developing the market.
What parts of the bioplastics space in Europe are currently faring well commercially, are there any products or projects that are doing particularly well? Or are there any end-use sectors that are seeing uptake?
Currently, the most success we are seeing is in the packaging sector, mainly related to food packaging at the moment. Around 50pc of the bioplastics demand comes from packaging.
Things like fruit and vegetable bags and compostable bin liners are doing well in terms of end-use. Polylactic Acid (PLA) is seeing some growth potential in some market segments as well with uptake. Some drop in polymers are also seeing movement for more durable goods, cosmetic packaging, automotive components as well especially if they allow for rapid substitution of fossil based carbon.
Does the association have a position on the difference between feedstocks? For example take bio-attributed plastics such as bio-PE derived from bionaphtha via a mass balanced approach versus something like PLA? How do you define biomass feedstock?
I think it can occasionally be a bit of complex question to answer particularly in terms of mass balance. European Bioplastics association represents all types of bioplastics and we have a position on the technology of mass balance which can help allow us to remove some fossil-fuel derived material from the plastics space but there needs to be safeguards as well, especially in terms of communication towards the consumer.
In terms of biomass feedstock at the association we define it as being the material or product is partly derived from biomass (plants). Biomass used for bioplastics usually stems from material like corn, sugarcane or cellulose. It is also important to note that some material that can be biobased but not bio-degradable, some can be biodegradable but not bio-based and some can be both bio-based and bio-degradable.
The European Bioplastics Conference is taking place in Berlin on 2-3 December. What are some of the key themes that will be discussed there?
It's the 20th anniversary of the conference so it will look back at the last 20 years of the bioplastic industry in Europe and try to provide a snapshot of where the bioplastics market in Europe is at currently.
The bioeconomy strategy report published by the European Commission just before the conference will also play a role in discussions. In the bioplastics sphere, the industry is struggling with the same kind of difficulties as the petrochemical sector in Europe, which we know is not doing well at the moment. But as it is more of an innovative sector this can provide an additional burden, especially when it comes to feedstocks and feedstock pricing. The conference is timely in the sense we see some positive policy developments coming out of Brussels and we hope they come in time to support the sector.
Otherwise, the conference always provides the opportunity to discuss the latest innovations in the biobased and compostable plastics sphere and to go deeper into their functionalities.
Argus recently launched the industry's first biochemical reference prices, built on Argus methodology and derived from ISCC-certified bio-naphtha. Published monthly and calculated from daily bionaphtha and biopropane premiums, these references cover bio-attributed ethylene, propylene, butadiene and benzene.
