bioplasticsMAGAZINE_1406

Politics
Bagislation in Europe –
A (good?) case for biodegradables
A critical review on legislation addressing
single-use plastic carrier bags in Europe
No other plastic product has ever created such public
debate and worldwide legal action. The single-use
plastic bag scores Number One on the virtual list of
the “most hated products”, being accused of exceptional overconsumption,
and the harm such bags do to the environment
and wildlife. Consequently it does not come as a big surprise
that the list of countries and cities acting against these bags
is long – and still growing fast. Several European member
states have regulated shopping bags, with the help of bans,
levies and taxes to reduce consumption. In due time the EU is
expected to set the framework by adding a specific proposal
to its Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. The bioplastics
industry, i.e. the producers of biodegradable polymers
and bags, has become a main stakeholder in Bagislation, as it
hopes for legal privileges and exemptions. Harald Kaeb, policy
expert for bioplastics, has followed the debates and outcomes
since the beginning. In this article he gives an up‐to-date overview
on the relevant legislation and examines the arguments
of various stakeholders against the background of science
and waste infrastructure. The perspectives of Bio-Bagislation
stand opposed to risks which could affect the credibility and
image of the bioplastics industry. The knowledge base needs
serious improvement. The author pledges that lacks and gaps
should not be ignored. The article is an update of his first article,
published three years ago in bioplastics MAGAZINE 06/2011.
No doubt, Europeans still use too many plastic bags.
However, the number of single-use plastic bags per capita, per
annum, varies widely dependent on regional marketing and
consumption patterns, ranging from 10–500 per annum in the
28 EU Members States (MS), and 176 on average, according
to the European Commission’s (EC) impact assessment
published November 2013 [1] (Fig. 1).
An estimation of the EU production of plastic carrier bags is
illustrated in Table 1. Immediately these figures were disputed
by the plastics industry organisation, calling them too high
and confusing because of lack of clear definitions and official
statistics. It is the vast number of single-use bags which is
targeted. Its tonnage (250 kt) is only about 20 % of the total
plastic bag market according to the EC assessment.
The main objective of Bagislation at EU and MS level is to
reduce the total number of single-use plastic bags and thus
reduce littering and its harmful effects, for example on the
marine eco-system. The replacement of single-use bags by
reusable bags and bags-for-life is considered an easy-to-pick
fruit by politicians and environmentalists, i.e. easy to achieve
and well accepted by most businesses and consumers. In
November 2013 the EU Commission had published its proposal
[2] to amend the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive
(PPWD), leaving it to MS to choose from diverse economic
instruments like taxes or levies on plastic bags. Pricing and
thereby increasing their value is generally perceived as the
best way to change consumption patterns to less single-use
and more reusable bags, e.g. bags-for life. The EC would also
Fig. 3: Bagislation often addresses the littering
by single-use plastic bags (Photo: Kaeb)
44 bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/14] Vol. 9