German Associations Call for Mandatory Use of Compostable Shopping Bags!
On July 15th, the Natural Circular Economy Initiative (INAK), the Plastics Packaging Industry Association (IK), Plastics Europe Germany, European Bioplastics, Polykum, Carmen, and the nova Institute jointly released a position paper offering recommendations for national implementation in Germany.
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) proposes mandatory use of industrially compostable plastics for certain uses across Europe, such as fruit and vegetable stickers, tea bags, or coffee capsules. The associations believe this requirement should be extended to fruit and vegetable bags.
Christine Bunt, General Manager of Plastics Europe, stated that in the future, fruit and vegetable bags in Germany should be compostable.
The practical examples provided by the Natural Circular Economy Initiative demonstrate where compostable plastics can and cannot be effectively used, laying a good foundation for subsequent discussions on the implementation of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation in Germany.
"Proper collection of organic waste requires appropriate and practical collection tools, and compostable fruit and vegetable bags have long been proven effective in other EU countries," said Katrin Schweder, General Manager of the Initiative for a Natural Circular Economy (INAK).
In Italy, for example, all shopping bags and ultra-lightweight bags have been required to be biodegradable and compostable since 2006.
The association noted that compostable plastics are particularly suitable for packaging that is often disposed of in organic waste bins, such as fruit and vegetable stickers and organic waste bags. In a statement, the German Plastics Europe Association stated that compostable plastics are less suitable for traditional packaging, such as snack bags or frozen food packaging, which should be placed in yellow recycling bags or bins.
However, the association's recommendations for Germany conflict with the country's existing organic waste disposal guidelines.
For example, the Berlin Waste Management Company (BSR) clearly states on its website that "plastics and bioplastics are prohibited in organic waste bins."
The company recommends lining organic waste bins with paper bags or newspapers, or forgoing bags altogether and disposing of organic waste directly at designated collection points at home.
Although these bio-based plastic bags are certified as industrially compostable, German waste management companies often consider them as contaminants along with fossil-based plastic bags and often manually remove them from the waste stream during the sorting stage. These companies say that compostable bags are visually indistinguishable from fossil-based bags, which can contaminate compost with microplastics.
