1.3.1 Drivers for change

The EU has recognized that, in order to sustain our demands in energy, chemicals and food, while addressing environmental issues, we need to substantially reduce our dependence on oil by establishing a bio-based economy. The European Commission recently issued Mandate M/429 (European Commission, 2011) to develop a standardization programme for

bio-based products, raising the general public’s awareness for bio-based products (since no external, perceptible characteristics differentiate them from oil-derived products). It was developed with the contribution of industry, research organizations, sector associations and standardization bodies and is anticipated to take a life cycle approach to evaluation and be sensitive to eco-system issues which have become so evident in the bio-fuels arena. Critical issues will include moving away from first generation feedstocks, increasing use of wastes, and ensuring the use of sustainable and low environmental impact technologies throughout the supply chain alongside a consequent reduction in wastes in new feedstock industries.

Early research on renewable resources focused heavily on crops such as rapeseed, corn or sugar cane. However, the controversial competition between food and non-food uses of biomass had an negative effect on crop prices as well as on press feedback concerning biofuels (OECD, 2008). Other sources of biomass are now studied and waste is increasingly considered as another renewable feedstock for the production of bio­derived chemicals, materials and fuels.

In times which increasingly value resource efficiency, waste has become a luxury. DEFRA, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the UK, has estimated that businesses could save up to £23 billion by re-using resources more efficiently (DEFRA, 2012). In the EU, Council Directive 99/31/EC, better known as the Landfill Directive, will drastically reduce the amount of landfill space available as the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill in member countries by 2016 will have to reach 35% of the 1995 level. As a result, landfill gate fee has increased from £40-£74 to £68—£111 (including landfill tax) in the UK between 2009 and 2011 (WRAP, 2009, 2011). Policy makers support alternatives to landfill (e. g., value recovery from waste), especially in the context of achieving a zero waste economy and the vision of the European Bioeconomy 2030 (European Commission, n. d.). At the same time, our society faces a huge looming crisis of resources. Globally, ‘30% fewer resources [are needed] to produce one Euro or Dollar of GDP than 30 years ago; however, overall resource use is still increasing […] as we consume growing amounts of products and services’ (Giljum et al, 2009). As traditional resources such as oil and minerals become scarcer, their availability will become more politically controlled leaving them vulnerable to highly politicized negotiations and pricing.

Waste valorization represents a promising research topic from both environmental and economic points of view as ‘there is a considerable emphasis on the recovery, recycling and upgrading of wastes’ (Laufenberg et al., 2003). Current management practices of waste should be replaced by strategies which have a lower environmental impact and which allow the recovery of marketable products for existing or new markets, thus offering

added revenues for companies. Valorizing our waste also has the potential to reduce a process’s carbon footprint and dependence on fossil resources, increase its efficiency and cost-effectiveness and moving towards ‘closed loop manufacturing’, one of the EU’s clear future strategies, highlighted in the Europe 2020 strategy document (European Commission, 2010). The use of renewables in consumer products is especially relevant at a time when public awareness of environmental issues and cradle-to-grave concerns is growing, leading to industry’s increasing concern over their ‘green’ credentials and environmental performance.