European Bioplastics reacts to European Parliament's vote on the proposal for a Regulation on Packaging and Packaging Waste / European Parliament sends mixed signals to the bioplastics sector

BRUSSELS, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- European Bioplastics (EUBP) commends the European Parliament for recognising the role of compostable plastics in achieving packaging waste prevention and reaching recycling targets.

- Picture is available at AP -

EUBP welcomes a less prescriptive approach, such as the one adopted by the European Parliament in plenary session today, for the packaging formats where biobased and compostable plastics play an important role and will continue to do so.

"Today's vote can be seen as a first step in allowing the EU to reach the goal of generating, at least, 20 % of the carbon used in chemicals and plastics from non-fossil sources by 2030", says Roberto Ferrigno, Head of EU Affairs at EUBP. "However, the full potential is still not reached. We regret that the role of biobased plastics in achieving the targets of recycled content was not supported. EUBP believes biobased plastics can and will, if enabled, contribute to the transition towards a circular economy, by storing and repurposing carbon dioxide", he elaborates.

In an increasingly competitive market, the persistent over-regulatory approach towards bioplastics puts at risk the further development of sustainable innovative packaging applications by slowing down necessary investments.

"EUBP calls on EU co-legislators to design and adopt a Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation that allows for the further development of net-zero, biobased polymers production technologies as enablers to achieve the European Green Deal transformation", concludes Hasso von Pogrell, Managing Director at EUBP.

About European Bioplastics
European Bioplastics (EUBP) is the European association representing the interests of the bioplastics industry along
the entire value chain. Its members produce, refine and distribute bioplastics i.e. plastics that are biobased, biodegradable, or both. More information is available at www.european-bioplastics.org

Press contact
Marion Thérage, Communications Manager,
European Bioplastics, Avenue Palmerston 3, 1000 Brussels,
Tel: +49 (0) 30 28482 350, Fax: +49 (0)30 284 82 359, [email protected]