Bioplaster: Fakta och siffror 1
FAQ JUN 2017 European Bioplastics e.V. Marienstr.
19/20 10117 Berlin of technological development, the share of global agricultural area used to grow feedstock for the production of bioplastics could grow to approximately 0.02 percent in 2019. This clearly demonstrates that there is no competition between food/feed and industrial production. A recent report by Wageningen Food & Biobased Research (Bio-based and biodegradable plastics – Facts and figures, 2017) calculates that “even if we would base all present world-wide fossil plastics production on biomass as feedstock instead, the demand for feedstock would be in order of 5 percent of the total amount of biomass produced and harvested each year”. Yet, such scenario is unlikely to happen since the bioplastics industry is also looking into the use of non-food crops (ligno-cellulosic feedstock), such as wood, straw, as well as waste products and side streams of the agro-industry for the production of bioplastics. Using an increased share of food residues, non-food crops or cellulosic biomass could lead to even less land needed for bioplastics than the numbers given above. http://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/feedstock/ http://docs.european-bioplastics.org/2016/publications/md/EUBP_landuse_2014-2019_total_en.jpg http://docs.european-bioplastics.org/publications/pp/EuBP_PP_Feedstock_availability.pdf Is there competition between food, feed and bioplastics regarding agricultural area? The feedstock currently used for the production of bioplastics relies on only about 0.01 percent of the global agricultural area – compared to 96 percent of the area, which is used for the production of food and feed. This clearly demonstrates that there is no competition between food/feed and industrial production. Of the 13.4 billion hectares of global land surface, around 37 percent (5 billion hectares) is currently used for agriculture. This includes pastures (70 percent, approx. 3.5 billion hectares) and arable land (30 percent, approx. 1.4 billion hectares). This 30 percent of arable land is further divided into areas predominantly used for growing food crops and feed (26 percent, approx. 1.26 billion hectares), as well as crops for materials (2 percent, approx. 106 million hectares, including the 680,000 hectares used for bioplastics)1 crops for biofuels (1 percent, approx. 53 million hectares). , and phone fax European Bioplastics e.V. Moreover, advanced integrated production processes, for example in biorefineries, are already able to produce several different kinds of products out of one specific feedstock – including products for food, feed, and products, such as bioplastics. e-mail web Marienstr. 19/20, 10117 Berlin +49.30.28 48 23 50 +49.30.28 48 23 59 info@european-bioplastics.org www.european-bioplastics.org Is the current use of food crops for the production of bioplastics ethically justifiable? According to the FAO, about one third of the global food production is either wasted or lost every year. European Bioplastics acknowledges that this is a serious problem and strongly supports efforts to reduce food waste. Other deficiencies that need to be addressed are: - - - lack of financial resources. When it comes to using biomass, there is no competition between food or feed and bioplastics. The land currently needed to grow the feedstock for the production of bioplastics amounts to only about 0.01 percent of the global agricultural area – compared to 96 percent of the area that is used for the production of food and feed. Agro-based feedstock – plants that are rich in carbohydrates, such as corn or sugar cane, is currently the most efficient and resilient feedstock available for the production of bioplastics. Other solutions, such as non-food crops or waste from food crops that are providing ligno-cellulosic feedstock, will be available in the medium and long term. There is no well-founded argument against a responsible and monitored (i.e. sustainable) use of food crops for bioplastics. There is even evidence that the industrial and material use of biomass may in fact serve as a stabilizer for food prices, providing farmers with more secure markets and thereby leading to more sustainable production. Independent third party certification schemes can help to take social, environmental and economic criteria into account and to ensure that bioplastics are a purely beneficial innovation. logistical aspects such as poor distribution/storage of food/feed, political instability, and 1 The 2 percent comprise e.g. natural fibres (primarily cotton), rubber, bamboo, plant oils, sugar and starch. Of these 106 million hectares only 400.000 hectares are used to grow feedstock for bioplastics (primarily sugar and starch). VR 19997 Nz, Amtsgericht Charlottenburg, USt-IdNr. DE235874231 HypoVereinsbank Rosenheim, BLZ 711 200 77, Konto 6356800, IBAN DE26 7112 0077 0006 3568 00, BIC/SWIFT HYVEDEMM448 13