Bioplaster: Fakta och siffror 1
FAQ JUN 2017 European Bioplastics e.V. Marienstr.
19/20 10117 Berlin VII END-OF-LIFE Can bioplastics be integrated into established recycling and recovery schemes? Bioplastics are a diverse family of materials. Depending on the material and the application, recycling in existing waste streams is certainly an option. Drop-in solutions such as bio-based PE or bio-based PET can easily be recycled in existing recycling streams together with their conventional counterparts. Innovative materials such as PLA can also be mechanically recycled. Once sufficient volumes are on the market, the establishment of a separate recycling stream will become feasible. Biodegradable plastic products that have been certified compostable according to EN 13432 are suitable for industrial composting. All bioplastic materials offer (renewable) energy recovery as they contain a high energy value. http://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/waste-management/ phone fax Do bioplastics 'contaminate' mechanical recycling streams? As with conventional plastics, bioplastics need to be recycled separately (by stream type). Available sorting technologies such as NIR (near infrared) help to reduce contamination. 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 Bioplastic materials for which a recycling stream already exists (e.g. biobased PE and bio-based PET) can easily be recycled together with their conventional counterparts. Other bioplastics for which no separate streams yet exist, are very unlikely to end up in mechanical recycling streams due to sophisticated sorting and treatment procedures (positive selection). Innovative materials such as PLA can technically easily be sorted and mechanically recycled. Once sufficiently large volumes are sold on the market, the implementation of separate recycling streams for PLA will become economically viable for recyclers. http://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/waste-management/ What is biodegradation? Biodegradation is a chemical process in which materials are metabolised to CO2 , water, and biomass with the help of microorganisms. The process of biodegradation depends on the conditions (e.g. location, temperature, humidity, presence of microorganisms, etc.) of the specific environment (industrial composting plant, garden compost, soil, water, etc.) and on the material or application itself. Consequently, the process and its outcome can vary considerably. Photo: Mechanical recycling plant Can bioplastics be mechanically recycled? If a separate recycling stream for a certain plastic type exists, the bioplastic material can simply be recycled together with their conventional counterpart – e.g. bio-based PE in the PE-stream or bio-based PET in the PET stream – as they are chemically and physically identical in their properties. The post consumer recycling of bioplastics materials for which no separate stream yet exists, will be feasible, as soon as the commercial volumes and sales increase sufficiently to cover the investments required to install separate recycling streams. It is expected, that new separate recycling streams for PLA for example will be feasible and introduced in the short to medium term. http://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/waste-management/ http://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/materials/biodegradable/ What is meant by ‘organic recycling’? Organic recycling is defined by the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/EC (amended in 2005/20/EC) as the aerobic treatment (industrial composting) or anaerobic treatment (biogasification) of packaging waste. The EU Directive refers to the harmonised European standard for the industrial compostability of plastic packaging: EN 13432. An equivalent standard has been approved by the European standardisation organisation CEN for the testing of compostability of plastics: EN 14995. In order to make organic recycling of biodegradable packaging more effective, a mandatory separate collection of biodegradable waste and legal access for certified compostable products to enter the respective recycling systems would be needed. http://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/waste-management/ http://docs.european-bioplastics.org/publications/bp/EUBP_BP_En_13432.pdf 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 16 European Bioplastics e.V.