DEFRA Oxo Report Conclusions Miss the Mark
Vancouver, Canada (Aug 30, 2011) – With recent media headlines showing the impact of the 2010 UK Government DEFRA report on oxo-biodegradable plastics (OBP), the responsibility falls on EPI Environmental Products Inc., as the industry pioneer and leader, to bring to light the deficiencies of the report and to highlight the OBP industry response. DEFRA commissioned the review of OBP technology, but unfortunately the resulting report was neither thorough nor accurate in its findings, and this has perpetuated misconceptions about OBP technology that have tainted perceptions of the associated environmental benefits.
The DEFRA report, prepared by a group at Loughborough University, UK was intended to be a complete review of OBP technology. Unfortunately, the expertise of the authors with regards to plastics degradation and biodegradation was certainly questionable, and the conclusions drawn were based on gross misconceptions. For example, the authors mistakenly used compostability as the key criterion for determining biodegradability, and failed to acknowledge the vast amount of scientific literature supporting OBP biodegradation. This may have resulted from the fact that key reviewers of the report were proponents of the Bioplastic industry, who view OBP as their chief competition.
The level of stakeholder input in preparation of the report was unusually low, and the OBP industry was not allowed the time to rebut the findings or provide additional information. This was in stark contrast to other similar DEFRA projects, where there has been extensive stakeholder involvement.
The OBP industry led by one of EPI’s eminent scientists, prepared an extensive report which contained a complete review of the peer-reviewed academic literature relating to OBP, along with industry data that together provided a thorough substantiation of OBP performance. All aspects of OBP technology were discussed and validated, including degradation, biodegradation, and non-ecotoxicity. In May 2011, the British Plastics Federation presented the OBP industry response to DEFRA for review and is patiently waiting for their comments.
The OBP industry response refutes all the misconceptions and misinformation contained in the DEFRA report. Those that have any questions about OBP technology are encouraged to review the industry response, which will be made public as soon as DEFRA has responded to it.
About EPI Environmental Products Inc.:
Established in 1991 in Canada, EPI Environmental Products Inc. (EPI) with its UK subsidiary EPI (Europe) Ltd. has become a world leader in the fight against plastic waste. EPI licenses proprietary technology that causes plastic to degrade. Plastic bags, plastic film, plastic packaging and other single-use plastics can remain in the environment for decades. When these products are manufactured using EPI’s additives, they will degrade and subsequently biodegrade when discarded in soil, in the presence of microorganisms, moisture, and oxygen.