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).
Minimal fraction of
land used for bioplastics
European
Bioplastics market data depicts production capacities of around 1.2 million
tonnes in 2011. This translates to approximately 300,000 hectares of land-use
to grow feedstock for bioplastics. In relation to the global agricultural area
of 5 billion hectares, 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.
No competition to
food and feed
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. The emergence of
reliable and independent sustainability assessment schemes will also contribute
to this goal.
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