Vegware
Vegware manufactures plant-based and compostable foodservice disposables, and also runs trade waste collections taking Vegware products to suitable commercial composting.
ID: 901872244503-02
Lobbying Activity
Response to Policy framework on biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics
27 Oct 2021
Vegware is a manufacturer of plant-based foodservice disposables, all of which are designed for commercial composting after use, where accepted. We have worked closely with the organics waste sector since 2012 to help drive business access to suitable organics processing (mainly in-vessel composting in around 7 weeks).
Vegware Ltd is headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, with EU warehousing and a significant client base of caterers across the EU.
Vegware welcomes the Commission’s initiative to develop a policy framework on biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics to clarify their role in the transition to a circular economy. However, we believe the Roadmap is incomplete and prejudicial. We fully support the detailed and evidence-based responses to this consultation provided by:
• Total Corbion PLA – Feedback reference F2745361
• ECBPI - Feedback reference F2743273
In addition, we highlight the following points:
- Organics recycling is a valid form of recycling, and plays a vital role in harnessing the value of biowaste. Mechanical recycling should not be treated as superior, as it simply performs a different role beyond the remit of biowaste.
- Compostable materials are a vehicle for capturing food scraps and - through organics recycling - returning that food to soils without introducing fragments of conventional plastics
- We agree that 'biodegradable' is a confusing term and Vegware does not use this term in our marketing, instead using the phrase 'commercially compostable where accepted'.
- Many companies manufacturing products already certify bio-based content, for example the USDA biopreferred program which relies on ASTM D6866 - https://www.biopreferred.gov/BioPreferred/faces/pages/ASTM_D6866.xhtml
- Bio-based and compostable materials can produce bio-methane in anaerobic digestion if processed with an autoclave pre-treatment. A batch of Vegware samples was trialled by AeroThermal Group in April 2021. The samples were mainly composed of coffee cups and PLA food containers. 1.9 kg of the Vegware samples were autoclaved under a direct steam pressure of 6 bar for 45 minutes using the AeroThermal Group’s pilot Thermo-Pressure Hydrolysis (TPH) system. 20.5 kg of TPH processed materials were produced with a dry solids (DS) content of 9.13% of which 89.0% are volatile solids (VS). This indicates TPH processing one tonne of the Vegware products could produce about 877 kg of Volatile Solids for anaerobic digestion.
A bio-methane potential (BMP) test was then conducted using lab scale anaerobic digesters on the autoclaved Vegware products. A BMP value of 375 m3 CH4/ton VS was achieved. This indicates that processing one ton of the Vegware products using the AeroThermal Thermo-Pressure Hydrolysis (TPH) pre-treatment and AD technology could potentially produce about 329 m3 of bio-methane.
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