FACT SHEET European Bioplastics e.V. Marienstr. 19/20 10117 Berlin European Bioplastics e.V. European Bioplastics Marienstr. 19/20, 10117 Berlin phone +49.30.28 48 23 50 fax +49.30.28 48 23 59 e-mail [email protected] web www.european-bioplastics.org

Bioplastics packaging - combining performance with sustainability

Materials and market development in the packaging segment

Plastics packaging – a success story Bioplastics packaging – the next step

There is no larger market segment in the industry than The overarching problem of climate change and the expected the packaging segment. More than a third of all plastics world- future shortage of fossil resources have accelerated the search wide are converted into packaging, that is approximately 100 for better concepts for plastics packaging. Approaches to reu- million tons. In Europe, 40 percent of the plastics demand is se and recycle plastics in closed loops need to be developed, used in packaging, which amounts to around 20 million tons keeping the guiding principle of efficient use of resources in every year.1 In Western industrial countries, 50 percent of all sight at all times. goods are packaged in plastics. With the corresponding demands of and brand Without the various available packaging solutions, many per- owners further driving the development of new solutions, bio- ishable goods would go to waste or be damaged en route to plastics are expanding their reach into the packaging segment. the customer. Packaging is also an excellent carrier for product advertising. It conveys important information to the consumer Packaging made from bioplastic meets societal and enables efficient distribution of goods through compac- and environmental demands. tion. Despite its extremely light weight, plastics packaging can also be easily adapted to meet specific application demands. Bioplastics use resources as efficiently as is currently possible while keeping food safe, enduring high heat, reducing CO2, However, the enormous consumption of conventional plastics and offering new recovery options. In short, bioplastics pa- in packaging means that today’s societal demands for prod- ckaging offers the same qualities as conventional packaging, ucts with a reduced impact on the environement are not met. while exposing much greater sustainability features. The question therefore arises how to turn plastics packaging solutions into more sustainable products. How can plastics packaging become more sustainable?

1 PlasticsEurope:VR 19997 Plastics Nz, – The Amtsgericht Facts 2015 Charlottenburg, USt-IdNr. DE235874231 HypoVereinsbank Rosenheim, BLZ 711 200 77, Konto 6356800, IBAN DE26 7112 0077 0006 3568 00, BIC/SWIFT HYVEDEMM448 Bioplastics packaging - Combining performance with sustainability

Bioplastics packaging – market, materials, performance 3. fossil-based and biodegradable materials (foremost blended with group 2). The bioplastics packaging market Packaging from biobased plastics has been developed over In 2014, global production capacities of bioplastics amoun- the past 10 years. New materials such as PLA, PHA, cellulo- ted to about 1.7 million tons with almost 70 percent of the se or -based materials create packaging solutions with volume destined for the packaging market – by far the big- completely new functionalities, such as biodegradability/ gest market segment within the bioplastics industry. compostability. The biobased versions of conventional plas- tics, such as bio-PE and partly biobased PET, are technically There is a high demand for packaging made from bioplastics equivalent to their fossil counterparts. The only difference is to be used for wrapping organic food as well as for premium their resource basis. As the value chain only has to be adap- and branded products with particular requirements. Market ted at the beginning, biobased PE, PET, PP etc. are known as introduction is making dynamic progress with growth rates ‘drop-in solutions’. ranging from 20 to 100 percent annually. Bioplastics produc- tion capacities have been forecasted to grow to 7.8 million All types of bioplastics used in packaging offer one out- tons by 2019 with most of these new volumes being conver- standing advantage over fossil-based products: The use ted to innovative packaging solutions. of renewable resources and, by consequence, the intrinsic value proposition of reducing the environmental impact of Governments can further foster this trend by promoting bio- packaging. plastics packaging in the context of their policies for innova- tion, resource-efficiency, and climate change. The transition Performance and processing of bioplastics packaging from a fossil-based economy to a bio-economy is an impor- tant target of the EU 2020 Strategy. The performance and ecological profile of packaging can be improved in many ways, for example through Bioplastic materials in packaging • biobased materials, Bioplastics are a diverse family of materials with differing • material combinations, e.g. blending of different properties. There are three main groups: bioplastics, • a combination of components from conven- 1. biobased, non-biodegradable materials such as bio-PE or tional plastics such as rPET with bioplastics (biobased bio-PET; PET), 2. biobased and biodegradable materials such as PLA, PHA • tailor-made additives, colour and processing aids, and or starch blends; • continuous development of new biobased . FACT SHEET | European Bioplastics

Bioplastics are suitable for all standard processing Product examples in the market range from Ontex-Mayen, technologies. who has been using starch-based packaging for their Mol- tex-eco baby nappies, to the Italian coffee brand Beanarella, Packaging made from bioplastics can be processed with which introduced compostable coffee capsules in 2012, and all customary plastics processing technologies. No special German ice cream maker Zandonella, who serves their gour- machinery is required. Depending on the type of bioplastics met bio ice cream in a compostable since 2014. used, only the processing parameters have to be adjusted. From a niche product in organic trade to premium A wide range of products suitable for numerous and varied packaging for branded goods – bioplastics are applications has been developed within a short period of conquering all packaging segments. time, and nowadays the quality of bioplastics packaging can easily match that of traditional products. For more informa- Service packaging tion on performance and processing, please see the table on page 4. Food service packaging is another large growth segment. Whether it is cups, plates, or carrier – the en- Bioplastics packaging solutions in the market tire product spectrum can be made from bioplastics. These products are used at sports events, street festivals, on Rigid packaging planes or on trains. They can be made of biobased non-bi- odegradable plastics or of biobased biodegradable plastics, Rigid bioplastics applications are available, e.g. for cosmet- depending on the end-of-life solution envisaged for the indi- ics packaging of compact powders, creams and lipsticks, as vidual product. well as beverage . Materials such as PLA, bio-PE, or bio-PET are used in this section. The biodegradability of certain types of bioplastics enables the joint recovery with food residue via composting or an- Several well-known brands such as Coca-Cola, Vittel, Volvic aerobic digestion, provided that conventional plastics do or Heinz use bio-PET for bottles of all sizes containing spar- not contaminate this recycling stream. kling drinks and other, non-gaseous fluids. Procter & Gam- ble and Johnson & Johnson rely on bio-PE to package differ- Retailers across Europe such as Rossmann, Aldi, Coop, and ent kinds of cosmetic products. Carrefour use single or multi-use carrier bags made from bi- oplastics - some with the add-on bonus of biodegradability. The high percentage of biobased material in these products Certified biodegradable/compostable cups are also used at and the ability to combine them with recyclates from con- big events or in major football stadiums throughout Europe. ventional PE and PET has resulted in a decisive increase in resource efficiency and a reduction of CO2 emissions. If Carrefour, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and the like are any thing to judge by, all packaging materials in the future As a potentially mechanically recyclable material, PLA is also will be biobased and easily (mechanically or organically) re- gaining market share in the rigid packaging segment. With cyclable2. This is also the desired outcome for consumers, as growing volumes, a separate recycling stream will become is manifested in their shopping behaviour. economically feasible, and the beneficial environmental po- tential of PLA will be further increased. About 80 percent of European consumers want to buy products with a minimal impact on the Flexible packaging source: Coca-Cola, Unicoop, Huhtamaki source: Coca-Cola, environment (eurobarometer survey, European Many different bioplastics are used for flexible packaging Commission, 2013). solutions. Biodegradability is a feature often sought when it comes to products for perishables. Biode- gradable food packaging certified as industrially composta- ble was the first successfully commercialised bioplastic You might also be interested in the following publications: product. Films and trays are particularly suitable for fresh produce such as fruit and vegetables as they enable longer • Fact sheet rigid packaging . In addition, confectionary, such as chocolate and • Environmental Communications Guide biscuits, or dry food such as tea or muesli are now increas- ingly being packaged with bioplastics. http://en.european-bioplastics.org/multimedia/

1 Organic recycling means industrial composting in this context. FACT SHEET | European Bioplastics

Process and typical applications for bioplastics in packaging Blends made from Cellulosic Notes PLA PHA PBS materials Starch PBS PHA PLA PBAT Bio-PE Bio-PET Process

Blow film o o + o + + + ++ ++ ++ o Cast film extrusion ++ + + + + + + ++ + ++ +

Co-extrusion + + + o + ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ as a component + + + ++ + ++ + + ++ + +

Paper lamination + + + o ++ + + + + ++ o

Thermoforming ++ + o o + + + ++ o o ++ + + + + + ++ ++ ++ + + +

Blow moulding ++ + + o + ++ + ++ + + ++ preforms

Injection blow moulding + + o o o o o + o o ++ Flexibles

Pouch + o + + ++ + + ++ ++ ++ +

Clear film ++ o o ++ o + o ++ o ++ ++

Outer packaging o o + ++ ++ + + ++ + ++

Strech film o o o o o o o o + ++ o

Shrink film + o o o o o + + ++ + +

Shopping/waste bags o o o o ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ o

Nets o o o o + ++ + ++ + ++ o

Labels + + o o + + + + ++ ++ + Rigid Packaging

Bottles + + o o o + + + o + ++

Clear Trays ++ o o o o o o + o o ++

Other Trays + + o o + + + + + ++ ++

Container (larger) + ++ o o + ++ + + + ++ +

Tubes o o o o ++ + ++ + ++ o

Caps + + o o + ++ + ++ + ++ +

Cups ++ + o o o ++ ++ + + + + beverages, yogurt

Blister packaging ++ + o o + + + + + o ++

Moulded foam + + o o ++ + + + o + o incl. loose fill

Cutlery + + o ++ ++ ++ + + + + o service packaging

Legend: ++ very suitable; + partly/mostly suitable; o not suitable

European Bioplastics Phone: +49 .30 28 48 23 50 For more information please visit: Marienstraße 19-20 Email: [email protected] www.european-bioplastics.org 10117 Berlin Email: [email protected] twitter.com/EUBioplastics

January 2016