![\"Mariagiovanna](\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2021\/11\/637731882337716538natureworks-main.jpg\")
\u201cFossil-based plastics have a 60-year head start on optimization for packaging and other applications versus bioplastics, so it\u2019s fun to see the biopolymers industry develop to match performance attributes so quickly,\u201d she highlights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the European Bioplastics Conference<\/a>, Vetere will be moderating the session Bioplastics in Packaging, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for bioplastics in packaging over the next few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ahead of the conference in Berlin, Germany, from November 30 to December 1, Packaging Insights speaks with Vetere about safety issues, legislative hurdles and new packaging applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This month, the Center for Environmental Health and Clean Production Action launched the GreenScreen Certified Standard for Food Serviceware, which Vetere views as a \u201cnew necessity\u201d for all materials, including bioplastics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GreenScreen certifies materials and food serviceware items as being free from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as well as thousands of other chemicals of concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis [need] will be especially true for compostable plastics as US compostable items containing PFAS have been banned from compost infrastructure. In Europe, there is increasing concern around the use of these additives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It takes innovation in materials engineering and converting processes to make bioplastics perform at petroleum-based plastics\u2019 level. Next to bisphenol and phthalates, research is showing how PFAS are widespread in consumer-facing packaging and potentially damaging to human health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, a report warned nearly half of all take-out food packaging tested across major US food chains \u2013 including Burger King, McDonald\u2019s and Wendy\u2019s \u2013 contain potentially toxic chemicals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While policymakers worldwide are addressing the bioplastics sector in multiple ways, a specific focus on bio-based and compostable materials is \u201cstill missing,\u201d says Vetere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPolicies based on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) can be a huge opportunity to develop fair systems allowing composting infrastructure to grow and innovative polymers to find their space,\u201d she maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n EPR is an environmental policy approach extending the producer\u2019s responsibility for a product\u2019s life cycle to the post-, not just pre-consumer stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Italian EPR system dedicated to compostable plastics is a clear example of how policy can be a growth factor for the economy while improving the quality of the environment. Policy actions willing to promote recycled content in packaging should also take the opportunity to promote the use of bio-based content in packaging at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This July, environmental campaigners reported the Italian government to the European Commission for passing legislation they say violates the EU Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Against EU advice, Italian authorities made exemptions for compostable and biodegradable plastics in their legal transposition, which was widely supported by compostable packaging producers like Tipa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The EU SUPD not differentiating between conventional and bio-based or compostable plastics has indeed become a point of tension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NatureWorks partnered with IMA Coffee to create compostable single-serve coffee pods.Last week, Huhtamaki\u2019s CEO shared with Packaging Insights that \u201crecycling is more important than compostability\u201d as composting packaging materials arguably takes them out of the closed loop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the flip side, Tipa\u2019s vice president of technology Dr. Eli Lancry argued that although recycling may theoretically keep plastic within a circular economy, practically it fails to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRecycling levels for flexible packaging hover around 6%, even in the most advanced markets, such as the UK. The rest is being sent to incineration or landfill,\u201d he flagged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) set \u201cambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets\u201d for countries to reach net zero by the middle of the century.Vetere warns of the \u201cpervasive misconception\u201d that plastic waste and the concept of a circular economy are independent of climate change concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo assume reducing and recycling are enough to reduce plastic waste and carbon footprints dramatically underestimates the carbon footprint improvements bio-based, compostable bioplastics can deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n NatureWorks\u2019 Ingeo PLA biopolymer has an \u201cincredibly low carbon footprint\u201d by design, says Vetere. \u201cOur process uses agriculture to sequester greenhouse gases into sugars. This means we manufacture a biopolymer that has a carbon footprint 80% smaller than some petrochemical-based plastics. But that carbon impact is only the beginning of the story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In April, NatureWorks entered a strategic partnership<\/a> with IMA Coffee to accelerate the North American market for compostable single-serve coffee pods. Later, in August, the PLA manufacturer announced<\/a> the construction of its second PLA location in Thailand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ingeo PLA biopolymers are used by Unilever\u2019s UK tea bag brand PG Tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The same Ingeo biopolymers can also be used to make compostable food packaging, such as tea bags or food containers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen Ingeo PLA biopolymers used by Unilever\u2019s brand PG Tips for tea bags across the UK where 42 billion are being produced annually. These fibers withstand boiling temperatures and mean the tea bag can be composted unlike when it was made with PE.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vetere further underscores compostable food packaging and serviceware helps keep more food waste out of landfills where it generates methane. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, food breaking down in landfills is the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInstead, compostable tea bags or food containers make it easy to divert more food waste to composting where it helps create a nutrient-rich soil amendment improving both biodiversity and the ability for soils to sequester CO2.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnderstanding how the effects of our product cascade through supply chains is so critically important. We may be a materials manufacturer, but we need to understand how our material impacts the whole life cycle of materials so we can tailor our efforts for a long-term sustainability benefit,\u201d Vetere concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NatureWorks expects the bioplastics market to continue growing at \u201cunprecedented rates,\u201d says Mariagiovanna Vetere, global public affairs director, despite lacking differentiation in anti-plastic legislation. \u201cFossil-based plastics have a 60-year head start on optimization for packaging and other applications versus bioplastics, so it\u2019s fun to see the biopolymers industry develop to match performance attributes so quickly,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"GreenScreen Certified Standard for Food Serviceware seems to become a \u201cnew necessity\u201d for all materials, including bioplastics","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[5847,12239,7105],"supplier":[19306,435,14509,19434,103,3331,455],"class_list":["post-101216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-bioplastics","tag-compostability","tag-packaging","supplier-center-for-environmental-health-ceh","supplier-european-bioplastics-ev","supplier-huhtamaki-group","supplier-ima-coffee","supplier-natureworks-llc","supplier-tipa-corp-ltd","supplier-unilever"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101216\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101216"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=101216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Safety first<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"It](\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2021\/11\/d1962a90-4143-4c6d-afd7-227f8c9ec8a3natureworks3.jpg\")
The Italian ideal?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Lacking legislation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2021\/11\/ce5d163d-e3e7-48dd-a30a-e804ce3e8164natureworks1.jpg\")
Where Ingeo comes in<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2021\/11\/cbea3a4c-7a80-4d3e-bd23-6707ea2fb12anatureworks2.jpg\")
Avoiding methane production<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2021\/11\/Bildschirmfoto-2021-11-25-um-12.33.09.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n