Our News
#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 [...]
Our Plastic Predicament video series
Digital education platform ThinkBioplastic has released its second series of videos on the world's plastic problem and potential solutions, entitled Our Plastic Predicament. The latest four episodes address what bioplastic means, why we need more [...]
Candidates revealed for Bio-based Material of the Year 2019
The six candidates for the innovation award 'Bio-based Material of the Year 2019' have been announced, with the winners to be selected at the 12th International Conference on Bio-based Materials in Cologne, Germany, on 15-16 [...]
European Parliament adopts new rules on single-use plastics
The European Parliament has agreed on ambitious measures proposed by the European Commission to tackle marine litter coming from the 10 single-use plastic products most often found on European beaches, as well as abandoned fishing [...]
On the Web
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, [...]
Agency warns over plastics in compost and AD
The Environment Agency has threatened a crackdown on poor performing composting and AD sites, where plastic is found in material to be spread to land. And the action could have a knock-on effect [...]
Opinion: Why we need an international agreement on marine plastic pollution
Plastic pollution is strewn across beaches and in oceans, bays, and estuaries. Tiny particles of plastic debris (often called microplastics) are so pervasive in aquatic ecosystems that we find them in seafood and table [...]
Inventors waging war on plastic with world saving wonders
We can all do our bit to tackle the scourge of single-use plastic which chokes our seas and litters our towns and countryside — from using reusable shopping bags to joining the [...]