Liz Gyekye / packagingnews.co.uk
EPI slams Loughborough oxo bio report
Oxo biodegradable additive supplier EPI Environmental Products has condemned the findings of a controversial report into the environmental impacts of such plastics.
Canada-based EPI Environmental Products, whose additives are used in oxo biodegradable bags (OBD), described the report by specialists at Loughborough University as having presented an “unflattering portrait” of the technology and claimed that it “attacked many of the core benefits associated with OBD”.
The criticism follows the ongoing row over Tesco’s decision to stop using the oxo bio bags in its stores.
In a statement, EPI said: “This was of particular concern because the report was commissioned by a UK government body (Defra), whose opinion is normally respected.”
EPI has conducted a review of the report by its International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB) which suggested “severe deficiencies, both in the authors’ review of available information and in the reasoning behind their conclusions” and alleged that proponents of bioplastics had “guided the authors”.
In May, a group of industry representatives issued a “rebuttal document” which was presented to Defra on behalf of the ODB industry, the contents of which will be published once Defra has responded to it.
The EIP statement added: “The amount of information collected for this [rebuttal] document clearly shows that there is a vast body of scientific evidence substantiating the performance of OBD technology which the Defra authors did not access or take into account.
“This information refutes the conclusions of the Defra report and validates the claims of the OBD stakeholders with regards to the benefits of OBD plastics.”
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