Defra
I have been reading through the 134 documents which DEFRA (the UK Environment ministry) refused to disclose to me until they were ordered to do so by the Information Commissioner. These are responses which DEFRA received to their “Call for Evidence on Standards for Bio-based, Biodegradable and Compostable Plastics.” DEFRA are still refusing to disclose five of these responses and I have appealed to the Information Commissioner in respect of them.
Readers of this column will recall that DEFRA said in their response to the consultation that “There was a clear consensus in relation to plastics containing prodegradant agents aimed at aiding the biodegradation process, which was that such technologies are unproven and likely to be a source of microplastic pollution.”
I can now see why DEFRA wanted to conceal these documents, because I have not so far found any such consensus. In fact, most of the submissions I have read give no evidence at all in response to Question 11 on “plastics containing prodegradant agents.” There does however seem to be much more of a consensus for banning bio-based plastics – especially of the type marketed as “compostable.” Reasons given include the following:
“There needs to be a justification why drop-in bio-based products would be preferential. Right now these are being used as marketing/green-washing strategies to promote sustainability. Judgements based on CO2 / water / arable land usage need to be made and compared to streamlined petroleum processes.”
“We do not believe that bio-based plastics contribute to a circular economy, as the production and disposal of them is still effectively linear; plants are grown, used to make a product and then ‘disappear’. The material does not have value that is then used to make another product like traditional plastics. There are also the negative implications of land use and pollution of water- courses through fertilisers when growing plants for bio-based plastic.”
“Inherently, bio-based plastics are no different than petroleum-derived plastics in their pathways in the UK. …. Indeed, as the energetics of the biobased feedstock manufacture are higher (and usually have a significantly higher CO2 footprint), this actually creates a larger impact when examining the entire life cycle.”
“The public is well aware of the drawbacks of deforestation for palm oil, even if palm oil can be used as “green” biofuel. Bio-based plastics pose almost identical risks, but the public perception of these risks still seems to be low.”
“companies and industries are changing their packaging strategies in response to immense public and government pressure only to find they have adopted a solution that cannot be composted / degraded in the UK.”
“There is no actual end-of-life or circularity guaranteed with composting, and indeed it may in some instances divert recyclable material into micro- and nano-pollutants.”
“In a trial at one of our compost facilities where some supposedly compostable food containers were introduced to the process, there was very little if any degradation within the in-vessel composting process.”
“Even the Royal Horticultural Society who trialled compostable magazine wrapping for their own magazines concluded that they did not compost satisfactory and therefore decided against adopting them. One would hope that the RHS would know a thing or two about composting”
“Our own investigations have found that films promoted as starch-based/bio-based are often less than 50% starch, with the greater share being made of fossil-based biodegradable petrochemicals (e.g. PBAT). We feel this is highly misleading to the potential users of this film and to the end consumers who accept the materials as “bio-based” in good faith.”
“Bio-based plastics are collected for recycling with food waste however the materials offer no nutritional value in the outputs of anaerobic digestion and composting. More money and carbon may be consumed in order to get bio-based products to an AD plant/composter and as they contribute nothing to the end product these resources may be effectively wasted.”
…..More to follow next week as I continue reading the submissions.
Michael Stephen
Michael Stephen is a lawyer and was a member of the United Kingdom Parliament, where he served on the Environment Select Committee. When he left Parliament Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc. attracted his attention because of his interest in the environment. He is now Deputy Chairman of Symphony, which is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, and is the founder and Chairman of the Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association.
Earlier Postings in this Column
- 1/ 1/ 20 – Plastiphobia, Microplastics and A Throw-Away Society
- 7/ 1/ 20 – Recycling, Lab Testing, Bangladesh and the Right Bioplastic
- 14/1/20 – Plastiphobia and Bioplastics Definitions
- 21/1/20 – Composting, the European Union and Unemployment
- 30/1/20 – Plastiphobia, Malaysia and a Case Against Compostables and Paper
- 7/02/20 – Coronavirus, MPs Letter, Montreal, Australia and the Dominican Republic
- 14/02/20 – Oman, MacArthur Foundation, Stifling Innovation, South Africa and Compostable Plastics
- 24/02/20 – Serbia, India, Pakistan and European Bioplastics
- 03/03/20 – Plastic To Protect Health and Common Sense on Plastic
- 10/03/20 – Plastiphobia, Singapore, Compostable Plastics, Doorknobs and Carbios
- 17/03/20 – Greening our Way to Infection, Defra Warns Against Bioplastics and Montreal
- 24/03/20 – Ditch the Plastic Bag Ban and Inn-Probio
- 01/04/20 – The Come Back of Plastic Bags, Compostable Plastic Not Wanted and EASAC
- 16/04/20 – Coronavirus and Agricultural Plastics
- 11/05/20 – Coronavirus, Peru, Barbados and Recycling
- 18/05/20 – Say No to Plastiphobia, False Descriptions and the Recycling Myth
- 02/06/20 – Definitions and More Setbacks for Plastiphobia
- 11/06/20 – BBIA, Food Waste and Testing of OXO-Biodegradable Plastic
- 19/06/20 – Oxo Biodegradation, Independent Reports and Precautionary Principle
- 29/06/20 – Banana Republic, Why Turn Plastic into CO2 and Plastic Waste from Ships
- 13/07/20 – Running Scared, The Daily Telegraph and Market Report
- 20/07/202 – Tipa, Plastics Today and The American Genius
- 27/07/20 – Coronavirus, Plastic Litter, Bahrain and Polymateria
- 17/08/20 – Plastics Europe, Confusing Issues and Paper
- 25/08/20 – Professor Emo Chiellini, Plastics Today, Greenwashing and Coronavirus
- 28/09/20 – Kill the Virus, Marine Degradation, Airports, Brazil Retail, Plastic Growth and Face Mask
- 08/10/20 – Compostable vs Biodegradable, Covid 19 and New British Bioplastic Standard
- 27/10/20 – Power of Lobbying, Paper and Cotton Worse than Plastic
- 02/11/20 – Covid 19 and Five Myths About Plastic
- 09/11/20 – Support for OXO BIO, Westminster Forum, Euractiv and Covid
- 23/11/20 – Toxicity of Bio-based and Biodegradable Plastics, and Covid Scaremongering
- 15/12/20 – Recycling and An Article from Austria
- 21/12/20 – EU Scientific Advisers, China Chose Wrong Bioplastics and Covid Nonsense
- 05/01/20 – EU, Covid Lockdowns, WRAP, British Standards Institution and Polymateria
- 12/01/21 – Intertek and Composting
- 19/01/21 – Recycling and Exporting Plastic Waste
- 22/02/21 – Seaweed Plastic, Orange Peel and Xampla
- 02/03/31 – OXO Biodegradable Plastic
- 08/03/21 – EU Scientific Reports and Paper vs Plastic
- 15/03/21 – India, Australia and Dow Chemicals
- 14/04/21 – Oxomar, UK Government and Microplastics
- 26/04/21 – Plastic to the Rescue of Covid and More News from Brazil
- 04/05/21 – Packaging Digest
- 07/06/21 – Minderoo Report and Korea Herald
- 30/06/21 – Recycling, Is the Use of Biobased Plastics Increasing, Confused Australians and Biodegradable Future
- 12/07/21 – EU Flawed Directive, Thailand and Pakistan
- 21/07/21 – Directors Talk, Confusion, Stir Magazine and Dumping Plastic Waste
- 02/08/21 – Angry Farmers, DEFRA and Substitutes for Plastic
- 06/09/21 – Microplastics
- 13/09/21 – UK Government, Defra and David Newman
- 20/09/21 – Michael Stephen Video Interview on Antimicrobial and Biodegradable Packaging
- 05/10/21 – Freedom of Information and Plastic Waste Solutions
- 14/10/21 – Michael Stephen at Pack4Change Summit
- 22/10/21 – Plastic from Algae and Carbon Dioxide
- 15/11/21 – Defra
- 22/11/21 – Defra, India, Food Service Footprint Magazine and Waste 360
- 30/11/21 – RWM Digital Spotlight and Plastiphobia
Interview with Michael Stephen
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed here by Michael Stephen and other columnists are their own, not those of Bioplasticsnews.com.