European Bioplastics Publishes Data on Land-use for Bioplastics

BERLIN, April 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

- Feedstock required for bioplastics production accounts for only a minimal fraction of global agricultural area.

The surface required to grow sufficient feedstock for today's bioplastic production is less than 0.006 percent of the global agricultural area of 5 billion hectares. This is the key finding published today by European Bioplastics, based on figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and calculations of the Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites (IfBB), University Hannover, Germany.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130408/607106-INFO )

Of the 5 billion hectares of global agricultural area, which comprise pastures (70 percent, approximately 3.5 billion hectares) and arable land (30 percent, approximately 1.4 billion hectares), around 300,000 hectares are needed to grow feedstock for bioplastics.^[1] In relation to the global agricultural area, bioplastics make use of only 0.006 percent. Metaphorically speaking, this ratio correlates to the size of an average cherry tomato placed next to the Eiffel Tower.

A glance at the global agricultural area and the way it is used, makes it abundantly clear: 0.006 percent used to grow feedstock for bioplastics are nowhere near being in competition with the 98 percent used for pastures and to grow food and feed.

According to European Bioplastics, increasing the efficiency of feedstock and agricultural technology will be key to assuring the balance between land-use for innovative bioplastics and land for food and feed.

See European Bioplastics' brochure "facts & figures" for more information: http://ots.de/5uDDQ

Download information graph on land-use in printable quality:

http://en.european-bioplastics.org/download/labelling/EuBP_Land_use_2013.jpg

European Bioplastics is the European association representing the interests of the industry along the complete bioplastics' value chain. Its members produce, refine and distribute bioplastics, i.e. plastics that are either biobased, biodegradable, or both.

More information is available at http://www.european-bioplastics.org

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1. European Bioplastics market data depicts a production capacity of currently about 1.2 million tonnes. This translates to about 300,000 hectares of land use to grow feedstock for bioplastics.

Press contact:        

Kristy-Barbara Lange, Head of Communications, European Bioplastics, Marienstr. 19/20, 10117 Berlin, Tel: +49(0)30-28482-356, Fax: +49(0)30-284-82-359, press@european-bioplastics.org