Plastic bags will no longer be allowed to be sold in Germany from 2022. The EU project Bio-Plastics Europe, based in Hamburg, is researching bioplastics as an alternative.
With the ban, Germany is following the example of many other nations to reduce plastic waste. „A good step,“ says Prof Dr Walter Leal, project coordinator of the EU project BIO-PLASTICS EUROPE. „However, it is now important to develop alternatives and analyse the entire life cycle of products and supply chains and to optimise them.“
„The ban on plastic bags is a step in the right direction, as a high proportion of plastic shopping bags end up in the rubbish. However, we need alternatives for all plastic modalities. That's why we want to work with the BIO-PLASTICS EUROPE project develop new materials. Bioplastics that are biodegradable and pose no risk to people or the environment.“ Walter Leal, Head of the Research and Transfer Centre for Sustainability and Climate Impact Management at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW)
The EU project managed by the HAW in Hamburg is currently researching such bioplastics. Scientists are currently investigating the toxicity of leached bioplastic plasticisers, for example.
Already in the run-up to the event the three most important challenges in the bioplastics supply chain: the need to overcome dependence on food crops for raw material production, the improvement of the energy balance of polymer processing in biorefineries and the creation of sustainable framework conditions for waste management.
The researchers from the 22 participating partners from European nations and Malaysia are working together on sustainable strategies and solutions for bio-based plastics. The aim of the project is Development and implementation of sustainability-based solutions for the production and use of bio-based plastics. „This is the only way to maintain and improve the environmental quality of land and sea in the long term. At the same time, we are supporting the EU plastics strategy and the circular economy,“ says Leal. „At the same time BIO-PLASTICS EUROPE is not only designed as a research project, but is intended to make very concrete proposals for implementation that are also affordable and economical.“
Source: HAW
