Competitive biodegradable, compostable and/or recyclable bio-based plastics for a sustainable end-of-life phase

Validate at pilot scale in an industrially relevant environment innovative production routes for bio-based polymers and related bio-based plastic products, following either of the following two options:

• production route from biomass streams to biodegradable or compostable bio-based plastics that can be competitive with fossil-based plastics in terms of performance and price when produced on a large scale;
• production route from biomass streams to bio-based plastics that can be recycled at end-of-life into comparable products and that are competitive with fossil-based plastics on performance and price when produced on a large scale.

The industry should actively participate to prove the potential for integrating the developed concepts into current industrial landscapes or existing plants so that deployment of the concepts can be accelerated and scaled up to an industrial level.

Proposals should specifically demonstrate the benefits versus the state-of-the-ar

Plastics are an essential part of modern society, with applications in almost every product range. Currently only a small part of the plastics produced are bio-based, as bio-based polymers usually bear a higher cost than the competing fossil-based alternatives. Also, current bio-based plastics on the market do not offer a large enough functional improvement to justify a premium price.

Biodegradability, compostability and recyclability of bio-based plastics may offer a significant added value in terms of sustainability. However, associated performance and costs still hinder the full marketability and competitiveness of biodegradable, compostable or recyclable bio-based plastics compared with their fossil-based counterparts.

The specific challenge is to develop biodegradable, compostable or recyclable bio-based polymers that can compete with fossil-based counterparts in terms of price, performance and environmental sustainability on a cradle-to-cradle basis.

• contribute to KPI 1: create at least 1 new cross-sector interconnection in bio-based economy clusters;
• contribute to KPI 2: set the basis for at least 1 new bio-based value chain;
• contribute to KPI 5: set the basis for at least 2 bio-plastics with improved sustainability performance (in terms of biodegradability, compostability or recyclability) compared with existing benchmarks identified within the project;
• overall reduction of at least 10 % in the carbon footprint of the considered bio-based operation compared with the state-of-the-art (shown by an LCA taken up in one of the work packages).