The Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association has suggested that the UK needs to develop a legislative framework that enables the growth of a UK-based bioplastics sector. A study carried out by the Centre for Economics & Business Research (CEBR) recently found that a domestic bioplastics sector could bring significant benefits to the UK, including 35,000 jobs and £2bn in gross value added to the economy.
The analysis highlights a significant opportunity, but suggests that capitalising on it will require a more supportive legislative, technological and commercial environment.
Low oil prices and a market that doesn’t reflect the “full cost” of commodities currently tilts the economics around plastics in favour of virgin petro-based plastics over bio-based and recycled sources. Intuitively, the finiteness of traditional plastic sources combined with the CO2 emission targets expected from COP21’s Paris summit this November would suggest that market opportunities are on the horizon for alternative plastic feedstocks and as CEBR’s research points out, there is an opportunity for the economics to thrive in the bioplastics sector if the right conditions are put in place.
Source: Bio-based industry calls for legislative push to develop bio-plastics
Lead image licensed under CC – credit Flickr user: Quinn Dombrowski
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