Our News
EU Single Use Plastics Directive enters into law
The EU Single Use Plastics Directive has entered into law after being ratified by the European Council of Ministers. The new Directive will prevent the sale and use of 10 of the most polluting singe-use [...]
BBIA says UCL compostables study is misleading
The BBIA has criticised a study published by the University College London that claimed that plastic packaging labelled biodegradable or compostable was misleading, stating that they don't tell consumers that the material needs to be [...]
Visits to BASF demonstration plots
BASF, which works closely with farmers to improve biodiversity and ensure sustainable crop production, will be running a series of visits to some of its on-farm production and environmental demonstration plots – which have now [...]
#OnePlasticFreeDay to take place 5 June
On 5 June 2019, A Plastic Planet will be asking people to get involved in #OnePlasticFreeDay to urge governments and big businesses to take action on plastic waste. The campaign asks people to pick one [...]
Penultimate Res Urbis meeting in Valencia
The penultimate stakeholder meeting of the Horizon 2020-funded Res Urbis project will take place in Valencia, Spain, on 10 July from 9am to 1pm. The project, which leads research into converting urban bio-waste into bio-based [...]
BBIA continues to endorse New Plastics Economy statement on oxo-degradables
BBIA continues to endorse the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's (EMF) New Plastics Economy statement on oxo-degradable plastic packaging, calling for it to be banned worldwide. The EMF's statement was originally published on 6 November 2017 but [...]
25 Year Environment Plan Indicator Framework published
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published its 25 Year Environment Plan Outcome Indicator Framework, alongside the 25 Year Plan Environment Plan Progress Report. The Progress Report outlines what steps the [...]
IBioIC Summer Social open to BBIA members
The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) will be holding a Summer Social on 4 June 2019 at the Glasshouse Hotel in Edinburgh. The event provides the opportunity to meet new IBioIC members, learn about new [...]
BBIA submits responses to Resources and Waste Strategy consultations
BBIA has submitted its responses to the UK Government's consultations on key policies in the Resources and Waste Strategy, published before Christmas. The consultation period for the consultations on a tax on minimum recycled content [...]
Plastics in the Bioeconomy report
A new report from Ricardo Energy & Environment looks at the state of the market for plastics in the UK bioeconomy and opportunities for growth in compostables. Awareness of the environmental harm of plastic waste [...]
Plymouth University study ‘misleading’ on compostable bags
Researchers at the University of Plymouth's International Marine Litter Research Unit have revealed that biodegradable, oxo-degradable and conventional plastic bags all remained functional bags despite being in the the soil or marine environment for three [...]
On the Web
Food packaging is full of toxic chemicals – here’s how it could affect your health
The internet cheered in December when Trader Joe’s announced it would take meaningful steps towards making its packaging more sustainable. The supermarket chain outlined a plan that included reducing and eliminating excess [...]
Waitrose launches ‘world first’ home compostable ready meal packaging
Working with Huhtamaki, the new cream-coloured containers, which are fibre based and similar in texture to cardboard, are now certified home compostable for the first time. Its suppliers Huhtamaki and Saladworks produced [...]
Tanzania bans plastic bags to clean up environment
A ban on plastic bags came into force in Tanzania on Saturday as part of an effort to tackle pollution in the East African country. It follows similar steps by others in the [...]
Plastics lobby group pushed Treasury to ease back on tax reform
The trade body for the plastics industry has held last-minute meetings with government officials as part of a lobbying effort to water down a tax on single-use plastics, internal documents have revealed. [...]
The plastic in our bodies
Nobody, it seemed, had thought to look before. When two Austrian scientists discovered last year that it's likely most people have plastic inside their bodies, it wasn’t because they had invented some [...]
Biodegradable bags struggle to break down, claims study
The researchers – from the university’s international marine litter research unit – took biodegradable and compostable bags and exposed them to air, soil and sea, all environments they could encounter if discarded as litter. Biodegradable, [...]