Keri Keinath
December 16, 2022
The bioplastics industry is entering an era of everchanging demands, which makes staying on top of these changes critical to success.
It can be challenging to keep up with these changes, which is why we want to share our predictions for upcoming bioplastic trends to help your company prepare for the new year.
Our insights come from attending the 17th European Bioplastics Conference in Berlin, as well as conversations with our plastics and packaging customers. Let’s dive into the top four insights and predictions for bioplastic development in 2023.
Traceability and transparency are becoming more critical than ever, and will continue to be scrutinized for years to come.
Why? Regulations for bioplastic companies are constantly changing and evolving, with the latest regulation being adapted by the EU in December 2022. Packaging companies Businesses must track carbon content and manufacturing processes to submit the correct information to receive government certificates in order to sell their products.
But governments aren’t the only ones keeping a close eye on these companies — consumers equally want total transparency into the product development of bioplastics, from start to finish. In addition, consumers desire more recyclable and compostable products and expect them on a tight turnaround time.
The pressure from governments and consumers makes it even more important for bioplastic companies to document their lab data to a T.
As mentioned, consumers want more recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable plastics that retain their traditional properties. Researching and developing this range of plastics is a considerable challenge for those who want to keep production costs low.
R&D teams are starting with a benchmark specification, and targeting to obtain similar test results and properties in new formulations and final end products. Properly documenting these formulations will help companies reduce the number of trials performed and ultimately decrease turnaround times, positively impacting their bottom line.
While it seems obvious, companies need to keep the end product use in mind when designing packaging products for its consumers. For example, certain foods will react with product components differently than others, so it’s necessary to develop various formulations to tackle this problem.
On top of that, each formulation will require application development and testing to confirm the packaging will both biodegrade and not react with the product it’s designed for.
It is also of high importance to keep in mind the packaging end of life, such as the conditions under which the packaging will decompose, the time it will take to decompose, and the impact to the environment where the packaging will decompose.
Constraints with scaling will continue to be an issue in 2023. Raw materials, like polylactic acid (PLA), are expensive and supply is limited. Raw material manufacturers need more capacity and higher throughput to scale to meet customer demand.
According to ScienceDirect, the PLA market demand doubles every three to four years. Existing PLA production plants cannot keep up with demand, or newer plants aren’t fully operational to take over production. The supply-chain issue causes PLA to be in short supply while its price skyrockets upwards of 20 to 50 percent.
Whether bioplastic companies are ready for the changes or not, the standard for bioplastic companies is higher than ever, with less room for error. The best way to navigate these requirements is to be organized with lab data and workflows.
Software like Alchemy can help bioplastic companies easily track and manage their lab work — all in one place. Visit our page on “Plastics & Packaging” to learn more.
