Dispose then burn? Each year bonfire night highlights discussions amongst sustainability sceptics around combustion and waste management. This week our newsletter delves into biobased polymers segment, signifying new sustainable solutions looking to move us away from traditional methods of disposal.
Welcome readers, to this month’s Biobased Products News Review
Market data on global plastics production in 2024, show that Europe’s global market share has shrunk by 10% since 2006. The report, published by Plastics Europe, notifies that the industry’s turnover has also fallen sharply, from €457 bn in 2022 to €398 bn in 2024, equal to a decrease of 13%. Benny Mermans, President of Plastics Europe attributes the loss of competitiveness to Europe’s plastics manufacturers facing crippling energy costs, climate-related taxes and high feedstock prices, which accelerate ongoing asset sales and closures. This comes in direct contrast to the industrial surge seen in other regions – Asia now produces 57.2% of the world’s plastics, with China alone accounting for 34.5%.
While the production of biobased plastic could offer a new opportunity for European industry market development is being hindered by a lack of enabling policies and inconsistent regulations. In its latest report, BB-REG-NET, a UK-based regulatory science network, examines the inconsistencies in how the UK defines “plastic” across key environmental and tax regulations, resulting in uneven policy implementation. The report highlights that regulations like the Single-Use Plastics Ban (SUPB) and the Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) use different exemptions for polymers – one excluding all natural polymers, the other only excluding cellulose – and neither clearly defines key terms like “chemically modified”. This lack of a unified definition means a single material might be classified as plastic under one law but not another, causing confusion for manufacturers of bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable materials and hindering their commercialization.
Away from plastic, Europe represents a key market for bio-based coatings. As reported by media outlet European Coatings, the global market is projected to grow significantly to EUR 22 billion by 2030, driven by the push for sustainable, high-performance alternatives across industries. Europe shows the strongest growth, thanks to strict environmental regulations (Sustainable Product Policy Initiative, EU Green Deal and REACH) and R&D in materials like bio-based alkyds and polyurethane coatings which currently dominate the market. The construction industry is a major market segment due to demand for low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) and green building materials. Future trends include incorporating smart coating functions with self-healing, cleaning, and anti-fogging qualities.
Recent developments in biobased coatings include that of USA-based CJ Biomaterials launching a new line of PHA biopolymer compounds for extrusion coating on paper and board. The new PHACT™ PHA compounds are fully biobased and combine unique amorphous and semi-crystalline PHAs to create a coating for food packaging which, according to CJ Biomaterials, performs well during processing, ‘acts as an excellent barrier against liquids including grease’ and offers ‘outstanding adhesion to paper’. Crucially, this coating is designed for an improved end-of-life: it is certified as home and commercially compostable and has passed lab-scale re-pulpability trials, offering flexibility for local recycling infrastructure.
Canadian CelluForce, a company that commercialises cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), has announced the launch of packaging coating CelluShield . The primary end-use of CelluShield™ is to coat recyclable flexible packaging for ‘sensitive’ products like food and pharmaceuticals. As a water-based, CNC-based coating, it apparently provides ‘exceptional barrier properties’ against oxygen (i.e., low oxygen transmission rate) and moisture (i.e., low water vapor transmission rate) while allowing packaging manufacturers to use mono-material structures (PE, PP, or PET) that can be easily collected and recycled through existing streams. The company emphasizes that the coating is safe, renewable, and PFAS-free, and meets stringent performance metrics.
Author
Dr Konstantinos Drousiotis
Source
Alder Bioinsights, press release, 2025-11-06.
Supplier
BB-REG-NET
CelluForce
CJ Biomaterials
European Coatings
Plastics Europe
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