WRAP backs bioplastics

Recycling body insists environmental risks are not as grave as biofuels and urges firms to continue to use bioplastics where appropriate

The government's recycling advisory body WRAP has urged firms not to ditch so-called bioplastics as a potential form of sustainable packaging in the wake of reports linking the material to food shortages and increased methane emissions. However, it has advised that they should review their use of bioplastics periodically to ensure they are delivering promised environmental benefits.

According to an investigation by The Guardian newspaper, the growing use of bioplastics made from crops such as corn, maize and sugar cane is contributing to increasing food prices and arguably even deforestation by encouraging farmers to switch away from food production. Meanwhile, a shortage of appropriate recycling facilities means many bioplastics are simply being sent to landfill sites where they slowly breakdown and release methane.

However, a spokeswoman for WRAP insisted that as long as firms were aware of some of the potential environmental risks and "review their use of biopolymers periodically" there was no reason for them to ditch the use of bioplastics.

"A moratorium [on bioplastics] would restrict material development and investment into new biopolymers," she said. "Biopolymers can have a useful part to play in some applications and there are compelling reasons for them to be considered where they help extend the shelf life of food."

She added that the bioplastics remained relatively small – currently representing just one per cent of all plastic packaging used in the UK – and as such it made a minimal contribution to food shortages when compared to biofuels.

Work is also under way to tackle the shortage of recycling facilities capable of handling bioplastics, according to WRAP. The organisation is working on a research project to see if biopolymers could be effectively recycled alongside conventional plastics in mixed waste streams.

However, the spokeswoman for the organisation warned that the current low levels of bioplastics being produced were hampering efforts to scale up specialist recycling operations. "Until a clearer picture emerges of the amounts and types of biopolymers that will be used in the future, the optimum collection methodology or route is not clear," she said.