Bioplaster: Fakta och siffror 1
FAQ JUN 2017 European Bioplastics e.V. Marienstr.
19/20 10117 Berlin phone fax European Bioplastics e.V. II GENERAL QUESTIONS REGARDING BIOPLASTICS How does EUBP define bioplastics? According to European Bioplastics, bioplastics are bio-based, biodegradable, or both. The term “bio-based” describes the part of a material or product that is derived from biomass. When making a bio-based claim, the unit (bio-based carbon content or bio-based mass content) expressed as a percentage and the method of measurement should be clearly stated. Biodegradability is an inherent property of certain polymers that can be suitable for specific applications, e.g. biowaste bags. Biodegradation is a chemical process in which materials, with the help of microorganisms, are metabolised to water, carbon dioxide, and biomass. When materials biodegrade under conditions and within a timeframe defined by the European standards for industrial composting EN 13432, they can be certified and labelled as industrially compostable. http://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/ produce plastics with renewable resources (currently predominantly annual crops, such as corn and sugar beet, or perennial cultures, such as cassava and sugar cane). 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 Bio-based plastics also have the unique potential to reduce GHG emissions or even be carbon neutral. Plants absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide as they grow. Using plants (i.e. biomass) to produce bio-based plastics constitutes a temporary removal of greenhouse gases (CO2 carbon fixation can be extended for a period of time by establishing ‘use cascades’, that means if the material is being reused or recycled as often as possible before being used for energy recovery. In energy recovery, the previously sequestered CO2 ) from the atmosphere. This is released and renewable energy is being produced. Another major benefit of bio-based plastics is their potential to 'close the cycle' and increase resource efficiency. Depending on the end-of-life option, this can mean: 1. Renewable resources are used to produce bio-based, durable products that can be reused, mechanically recycled and eventually incinerated whereby renewable energy is being produced. 2. Renewable resources are used to produce bio-based, biodegradable and compostable products that can be organically recycled (industrial composting and anaerobic digestion) at the end of a product's life cycle (if certified accordingly) and create valuable biomass (humus) during the process. The humus can be used to grow new plants, thus closing the cycle. Furthermore, plastics that are bio-based and compostable can help to divert biowaste from landfill and increase waste management efficiency across Europe. For more information on that, please see the section on end-of-life (VII). http://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/environment/ http://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/waste-management/ Figure: Material coordinate system of bioplastics (sorce: EUBP) What are the advantages of bioplastics? Bio-based plastics can help to reduce the dependency on limited fossil resources, which are expected to become significantly more expensive in the coming decades. Bio-based plastics are made from renewable sources instead of oil and that way gradually substitute fossil resources used to 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 5