Policy and reports

BBIA members have completed a two-month study into the claims that, in our opinion, are and are not acceptable in the UK marketplace for FMCG packaging related to Bio-based materials. It is the first guideline written by an association for the CMA and its members.
This study, which we have now transmitted to the Competition and Markets Authority, we hope will stimulate that body into taking a more vigorous approach to misleading marketing claims and to take into account the study mentioned by UCL into PAC plastics. The document serves moreover, as a series of guidelines for BBIA members to ensure claims conform with certification and realistic market practices. The report is available on the BBIA reports page.

UCL, the London University specialising in research around compostable and biodegradable plastics, in May published a ground breaking report into the biodegradability of plastics with additives (PAC) in the open environment.

CST spoke with more than 40 experts from academia and industry to understand the opportunities and barriers to building UK capability, with a focus on what is needed to translate research into economic and social impact.

UCL study suggests that plastics containing biodegration accelerators (also known as oxodegradable) do not reliably biodegrade within the time frames of the claims manufacturers make.

The Food Service online magazine Footprint has highlighted the issue of plastics used in agriculture. As readers will know we have long campaigned with DEFRA to introduce legislation implementing obligatory EPR for recyclable plastics used in farming and the substitution of non-biodegradable soil mulch with certified biodegradable films that are now available. As usual, DEFRA officials choose not to listen and our soils are more polluted by the day.

The Higginson media agency this week reported that tiny particles of plastic have been detected in the brains of mice just two hours after ingestion, a finding that could have significant implications for human health. The team of researchers from Austria, the US, Hungary, and the Netherlands also uncovered the mechanism by which nanoplastics breach the blood-brain barrier, an important defence against pathogens and toxins.

On 30 March the Government published its new report on industrial biotechnology and its potential to grow the UK economy. There are a lot of good references in this to current UK industrial progress including on enzymes, fine chemicals, protein etc, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. However, all the examples are still very small because new technologies need market access to grow, and this requires Government mandates or fiscal policies (just as we have done with renewable energies and electric car, for example). Those seem such a long time away. Anyway, let’s applaud what we’ve got so far.

An analytical critique of circular economy policies has been published in the Journal of Ecological Economics. The findings include that ‘GDP growth increases resource extraction four times more than the savings achieved by CE initiatives’. We are still a long way away from any meaningful implementation of truly circular policies, globally and also nationally.

The European Commission published its position on green claims with the aim of reducing or avoiding greenwashing. An essential read for everyone facing consumers, but not only. Here in the UK BBIA members are preparing guidelines for the CMA on which claims can be considered justifiable for compostable/biodegradable packaging used in FMCG applications.

The Scottish Science and Advisory Council has published in report on the Circular Economy to which BBIA contributed. You can find the 12-page document here.

BBIA member OCEANIUM has just published its 2022 Impact Report which is well worth a read. Oceanium uses kelp to produce polymers.

Recommended reading to anyone who wishes to understand the landscape for the standards related to biodegradable plastics, the CEN (with BSI in the UK) has issued its document ‘Biodegradable plastics: Status of standardization and new prospect’ which can be purchased from the BSI website. It lays out all the existing standards around biodegradable plastics.