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Plastics are essential and are used in coatings, construction, containers, furniture, packaging and textiles. They provide us with a means of protecting goods and chemicals, prolonging the shelf-life of foodstuffs and waterproofing to name but a few applications. However, we currently rely heavily upon fossil fuel as a feedstock and energy source for plastic manufacture. This situation is not sustainable because crude oil stocks are finite. In addition, the manufacture of fossil fuel-based plastics (petroplastics) is energy intensive and results in the emission of large quantities of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide that contribute to global warming.
Renewable plastics
Several companies are researching, manufacturing, processing and disposing of plastics made from renewable resources in an attempt to move to a more sustainable position. These so-called 'bioplastics' are made from replenishable crop components such as starch and vegetable oils and are usually broken down by micro-organisms in the environment (biodegradeable). However, the bioplastics industry is in its infancy with low material volumes and relatively high prices when compared to petroplastics. At the moment there are several types of bioplastics available, but there is a greater range of petroplastic materials on the market. As bioplastic research and manufacturing processes evolve there will inevitably be new types released onto the market. In addition, there are also likely to be enhancements in production efficiency and volume demand to drive down costs. In short, bioplastics show potential to reduce our oil dependency and to help mitigate our environmental impact through reducing the levels of waste sent for landfill and through GHG emission reductions. However, further research, up-scale and marketing is required to reduce production costs and enable greater penetration of bioplastics into a petroplastic-dominated market.
The main challenge for bioplastics
The utilisation of renewable feedstocks and biodegradability are two major drivers for the use of bioplastics. Other benefits of bioplastics include unique functional properties and an equivalent or lower carbon footprint when compared to petroplastics. However, possessing and using the correct disposal methods, or 'end of life options', is critical to the success of bioplastics. When bioplastics come to the end of their useful life there are several disposal options available including: 1) composting; 2) recycling; 3) energy from waste options (e.g. anaerobic digestion and incineration); 5) landfill. Landfill is considered to be the worst option both economically and environmentally. The UK is running out of landfill space and current EU legislation (the Landfill Directive) obliges a reduction in the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill to reduce emissions of methane (a GHG 23 times worse than carbon dioxide). In an attempt to comply with this directive, a Landfill Tax escalator has been introduced. Landfill Tax is currently set at £40 per tonne of waste and is set to rise by £8 per year until at least 2010/2011. Currently, the main disposal routes available to bioplastics are composting and landfill. The other options are not widespread in the UK. Furthermore, Local Authorities differ considerably in the methods of waste collection they use. Clearly, investment is required, standard procedures for waste collection and processing are needed and greater public awareness of what to do with bioplastics is necessary in order to minimise the environmental impact of bioplastic waste disposal. When this occurs the UK will be in a better position to deal with its own waste. However, there are several regulations covering disposal options including: 1) the Waste Incineration Directive relating to energy from waste options; 2) EN 13432, Publicly Available Specification (PAS 100) and Animal By-Products Regulations (ABPR) for composting and anaerobic digestion. These regulations are a hurdle to be surmounted by companies involved in waste disposal. End of life disposal is the main issue, but there are other challenges to be met before bioplastics achieve widespread plastic market penetration. These challenges include the cost of plant, resin production and processing, high resin prices (typically two to four times more expensive than corresponding petroplastics), compatibility of resins with processing equipment, low volumes of material, packaging regulations and company resistance to using them. At all levels of the supply chain there is a need to raise awareness of bioplastic materials, what they can be used for and the benefits they offer. In addition, are consumers willing to accept such new packaging materials? All of these challenges provide an opportunity for improvements to be made through research and development, process development, investment, marketing and knowledge transfer. Such work is justified because bioplastics offer large benefits over petroplastics: because they are sustainable, biodegradable and possess some novel and superior functional properties over petroplastics.
Environmental benefits of bioplastics
Bioplastics are renewable and can be disposed of in a number of environmentally-friendly ways. However, if global carbon footprint and GHG emissions targets, such as those set out in the Climate Change Bill (80% reduction in GHG emissions from 1990 levels by 2050) are to be met, a holistic approach is required throughout the life cycle of bioplastics to make sure that their environmentally-friendly potential is maximised. Realistically, this has not been fully achieved yet because: 1) there is little awareness of what to do with bioplastic materials at the end of their life; 2) Local Authorities do not have a standardised collection method for plastics to ensure quality material for recycling or composting; 3) most of the disposal options available to bioplastics require further development. However, energy, GHG and carbon footprint savings are being achieved through improved raw material and bioplastic manufacturing process efficiency. In order to try and ascertain the environmental impact of materials such as bioplastics, life cycle analysis is usually performed. This method is an all-encompassing approach to auditing the energy and carbon footprint of materials during their production, use and disposal. Life cycle analysis is relatively new and, at the moment, there is no standard methodology. This presents certain difficulties in determining the relative environmental impact of different materials suitable for the same application. However, a recent Publicly Available Specification (PAS 2050) has been formulated to provide a standard LCA model for products and services in the UK.
The bioplastics market
At the moment, the world uses about 260 million tonnes per annum (tpa) of plastics, Europe consumes around 53 million tpa of plastics and the UK uses approximately five million tpa of plastics, approximately half of which is used in packaging. In comparison, around 300 ktpa (thousand tpa) of bioplastics are consumed worldwide equating to a 0.1% share of the current plastics market. In Europe, bioplastic consumption is currently around 60-100 ktpa and, specifically, the UK uses around 15 ktpa for packaging, waste collection and food serviceware. Clearly, there is potential for growth in this sector and, in fact, experts predict a six-fold expansion in the global bioplastics market by 2011.
Bioplastic manufacture in the UK
The bioplastics industry is a fledgling activity in the UK with only a few resin manufacturing sites. There are two facilities that manufacture cellulose acetate from wood pulp and at least one manufacturer of dried starches produced from local wheat suitable for bioplastics. Other starch producers in the UK focus on the manufacture of high dextrose (glucose) syrups for food and beverage production. A feasibility study has recently shown that it may be commercially viable to manufacture polylactic acid (PLA), one of the most commonly used bioplastics, from home-grown cereals in the UK. This development may be fundamental in building a bioplastic industry in the UK and may provide a new market for the UK farming industry.
HGCA role in developing a UK bioplastic market
HGCA has a long-term commitment to developing the market for home-grown cereals and oilseeds in industrial applications such as biofuels and bioplastics and currently funds the R&D and market development of many industrial uses projects. For example; Cambridge Biopolymers, a HGCA Enterprise Award winner, has developed a renewable biopolymer resin based on oilseed rape oil which is suitable for a number of applications that currently use petrochemical-based resins. HGCA also funds research into the production of eco-composite materials from wheat starch and straw. Looking forward, HGCA plans to expand its industrial uses activities to help develop innovation in the bioplastics industry and, in particular, to facilitate end of life disposal systems that will capture the full benefits of bioplastics.
Marketing activities will include:
. Continued support for companies to develop novel bioplastic uses
. Work with manufacturers and retailers to develop supply chains
. Participation in a UK PLA manufacturing thematic working group
. A supply chain symposium with speakers from each industry sector
. Presentations to the farming community on new market opportunities
HGCA will also contribute to:
. Trials for the disposal routes of mixed bioplastics
. A supermarket survey of bioplastic usage
. A Non-Governmental Organisation attitude survey on biopolymers
. A survey of Local Authority and service company attitudes to biopolymers
Research and development activities will include:
. Ongoing support of Defra LINK renewable materials projects
. A report on the disposal best practices for bioplastics
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