K – A Great Success For Bioplastics Industry

With over 70 companies from the bioplastics sector showcasing their newest products and other innovative solutions at the K-2010 from October 27 to November 3 in Düsseldorf, Germany, the overall resumé is exceedingly positive for the branch.

„The number one plastics and rubber trade show proved to be the ideal platform for our industry to feature its tangible benefits of innovation and sustainability in this rapidly emerging branch of the plastics industry“, says Hasso von Pogrell, Managing Director of European Bioplastics. Sustainability, as one of the key topics of the bioplastics industry, was widely discussed at the K. Nowhere was the emphasis on greater sustainability more apparent than at the Bioplastics Business Breakfast sponsored by Bioplastics Magazine. “It’s clear from what we’ve seen in the industry, at the show in general, and at the breakfast in particular, that the decades long research and development process into alternatives to petrochemical-based plastics has paid off,” says Pogrell “One sees this with machinebuilders, converters, brand owners, retailers, and consumers. From basically only pilot production beginning in this decade, today there are hundreds if not thousands of new plastic products made from plants, not oil, and production capacities in 2009 were over 430,000 tousand tonnes.”

The push to adopt plastics made from plants comes from the fact that these revolutionary new materials emit less greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, consume less energy, and contribute to the new green economy – a fact regularly confirmed by market and life cycle studies.

According to Hasso von Pogrell, with an eye on the steadily growing demand for sustainable solutions, European Bioplastics is actively working with stakeholders on EU level to jointly develop appropriate criteria and standards for measuring sustainability regarding bioplastics. “As knowledge partner throughout the whole value chain, we seek to provide fact based and reliable information about the bioplastics industry to all interested parties”, he concludes.

European Bioplastics is the European association representing the interests of the industry along the complete bioplastics‘ value chain. Its members produce, refine and distribute bioplastics i.e. plastics that are either bio-based, compostable, or both.