Case For Support - Compostable plastics: unlocking existing barriers to systems change

支持案例 - 可堆肥塑料：消除系统变革的现有障碍

• 批准号: NE/V010735/1
• 负责人: Mark Miodownik
• 金额: $ 148.96万
• 依托单位: University College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FV010735%2F1
• 关键词: Case; Support; Compostable; plastics; unlocking

In 2018 the UK Plastics Pact set a target to make all plastic packaging 100% recyclable, reusable, or compostable, and to eliminate all unnecessary single-use packaging by 2025. Including compostable plastics in the target was important for two reasons: firstly, there are some items such as food packaging, wipes, tea bags, coffee pods, sachets, that being highly food contaminated are not to suited to recycling or reuse; secondly, food waste is of major environmental importance and compostable liners play an important role in the route out of the home (government target of all UK households by 2023). \But there is a fundamental problem. The compostables sector is the "wild west" of plastic packaging not just in the UK but also internationally. The materials are largely unregulated and the claims made of environmental credentials are often oversold to the public. Our citizen science research shows that 84% of UK households taking part reported that they are more likely to choose products that are marked as "biodegradable" or "compostable" but they are confused about how to dispose of them. Due to their popularity with the public and brands, the material is starting to displace recyclable plastics such as PET. Plastics Europe estimate the global market for biodegradable plastics is set to grow to 1.3 million tonnes in by 2023 but it could be much greater if compostable drinks bottle, crisp packets and chocolate wrappers start to be produced. The displacement of reusable or recycling products is not the only problem, contamination of other waste streams is another: compostable plastics are currently incompatible with most food waste processing systems. Thus it is it vital to design a workable and sustainable system for compostable tea bags, wipes, caddy liners, food contaminated to-go packaging, ect. The current problems are as follows:1. Compostable plastics are currently unregulated; while there are certification standards that can be adopted voluntarily, these do not guarantee environmental protection.2. There is no dedicated UK-wide collection and processing facilities for compostable plastics, without which their environmental impact is high.3. There is currently no working technical solution to the automatic separation and sorting of compostable plastics, thus they are a growing contaminant in the plastics recycling and food waste collection systems.4. There is widespread confusion about what they are and how to dispose of them especially in the case of home compostable plastics.5. There is a growing risk that the confusion around compostable products (and a mistaken belief that they will biodegrade in any conditions) may lead to increased environmental pollution especially in the case of drinks bottles exported to other countries with no waste collection infrastructure.We have co-created this research programme through a series of meetings with industry partners who have agreed to be part of the industry consortium Veolia, Paper Round, Deliveroo, Vegware, Nemi Teas, BBIA, REA, Xampla, Recycleye, Mamabamboo, Anerotech, Declan Mee Ltd and Closed Loop Partners. The agreed aim of this project is to unlock the barriers to a sustainable system for the use of compostable plastics in the UK and worldwide. In this project we will synthesise the results from our environmental analysis of different compostable products with our work on labelling and automatic detection to consider how the disposal and industrial composting of these products could create a sustainable system. Specifically we will ask what UK waste processing system needs to be in place for such products to be sustainable, how such a system might operate, and how it could be economically viable. We place special emphasis on assessing the feasibility of using a UK food waste collection system as the means to harvest compostable plastics from domestic households.

2018年，英国塑料公约设定了目标，要求所有塑料包装100%可回收、可重复使用或可堆肥，并到2025年消除所有不必要的一次性包装。将可堆肥塑料纳入目标很重要，原因有两个：首先，有一些物品，如食品包装，湿巾，茶袋，咖啡包，香袋，高度食品污染不适合回收或再利用;第二步，食物垃圾对环境具有重要意义，可堆肥衬垫在家庭外出的路线中发挥着重要作用（到2023年所有英国家庭的政府目标）。但有一个根本问题。堆肥部门是塑料包装的“狂野西部”，不仅在英国，而且在国际上。这些材料在很大程度上是不受管制的，而且环保证书的说法往往被过度推销给公众。我们的公民科学研究表明，84%的英国家庭参与报告说，他们更有可能选择标记为“可生物降解”或“可堆肥”的产品，但他们对如何处理这些产品感到困惑。由于它们在公众和品牌中的流行，这种材料开始取代PET等可回收塑料。欧洲塑料协会估计，到2023年，全球可生物降解塑料市场将增长到130万吨，但如果可堆肥饮料瓶、脆包装和巧克力包装开始生产，这个市场可能会更大。可重复使用或回收产品的替代不是唯一的问题，其他废物流的污染是另一个问题：可堆肥塑料目前与大多数食物垃圾处理系统不兼容。因此，设计一个可行的和可持续的系统对于可堆肥的茶包，湿巾，盒内衬，食品污染的打包包装等至关重要。目前存在的问题如下：1.可堆肥塑料目前不受监管;虽然有认证标准可以自愿采用，但这些标准并不能保证环境保护。英国没有专门的可堆肥塑料收集和加工设施，没有这些设施，它们对环境的影响很大。目前还没有可堆肥塑料的自动分离和分类的有效技术解决方案，因此它们在塑料回收和食物垃圾收集系统中是越来越多的污染物。4.有广泛的困惑，他们是什么，以及如何处置他们，特别是在家庭堆肥塑料的情况下。5.有一个越来越大的风险，围绕堆肥产品的混乱（以及错误地认为它们在任何条件下都能生物降解）可能会导致环境污染增加，特别是在出口到其他没有废物收集基础设施的国家的饮料瓶的情况下。我们通过与同意成为工业联盟威立雅一部分的工业合作伙伴举行一系列会议，共同创建了这个研究计划，纸圆，Bagoo，Vegware，内米茶，BBIA，REA，Xampla，Pancleye，MamabReloir，Anerotech，Declan Mee Ltd和闭环合作伙伴。该项目的商定目标是在英国和全球范围内解锁可持续系统使用可堆肥塑料的障碍。在这个项目中，我们将综合我们对不同可堆肥产品的环境分析结果，以及我们在标签和自动检测方面的工作，以考虑这些产品的处置和工业堆肥如何创造一个可持续的系统。具体来说，我们将询问英国废物处理系统需要什么样的产品才能可持续发展，这样的系统如何运作，以及它如何在经济上可行。我们特别强调评估使用英国食物垃圾收集系统作为从家庭中收集可堆肥塑料的手段的可行性。

项目成果

Reducing plastic waste: A meta-analysis of influences on behaviour and interventions

减少塑料废物：对行为和干预措施影响的荟萃分析

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134860
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Journal of Cleaner Production
• 影响因子: 11.1
• 作者: Allison A

The Big Compost Experiment: Using citizen science to assess the impact and effectiveness of biodegradable and compostable plastics in UK home composting

大型堆肥实验：利用公民科学评估可生物降解和可堆肥塑料在英国家庭堆肥中的影响和有效性

• DOI: 10.3389/frsus.2022.942724
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Frontiers in Sustainability
• 作者: Purkiss D

A Review of Sorting and Separating Technologies Suitable for Compostable and Biodegradable Plastic Packaging

• DOI: 10.3389/frsus.2022.901885
• 发表时间: 2022-05
• 作者: Nutcha Taneepanichskul;Danielle Purkiss;M. Miodownik

Improving compostable plastic disposal: An application of the Behaviour Change Wheel intervention development method

改善可堆肥塑料处置：行为改变轮干预开发方法的应用

• DOI: 10.3389/frsus.2022.968152
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Frontiers in Sustainability
• 作者: Allison A

Mechanoenzymatic reactions for the hydrolysis of PET.

• DOI: 10.1039/d3ra01708g
• 发表时间: 2023-03-27
• 期刊: RSC advances
• 影响因子: 3.9