Bioplastics boosted by German deposit exemption

A mandatory deposit of €0.25 has been charged in Germany on mineral waters, beer and soft drinks sold in cans and plastic bottles since 2003. It was extended to non-fizzy soft drinks in 2006.

Manufacturers of bioplastic bottles, which are produced from at least 75% renewable resources, must however participate in the dual system of recycling for the bottles using the yellow recycling sack or bin.

The exemption follows approval of the 5th Amendment of the German Packaging Directive. It will run from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2012.

Jöran Reske, responsible for environmental issues at European Bioplastics, said this meant bioplastic bottles would be fed into energy recovery, and contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions because they were made from renewable resources.

It would also provide "considerable" stimulation for the expansion of the bioplastics market in Germany and drive investment in sorting and recycling systems.

Approximately 12 beverages are currently sold in bioplastic bottles worldwide, including Belu water, which is in bottles made from polylactic acid (PLA), the biopolymer derived from cornstarch.

Despite optimism about expanding bioplastics use, there have been criticisms of its performance. In the UK, Innocent Drinks trialled PLA but switched to 100% recycled PET for its fruit Smoothie bottles because PLA did not use any recycled content and commercial composting was not yet a mainstream option in the UK.

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