In the face of plastic packaging taxes and extended producer responsibility systems implemented in over 60 countries around the world, the adoption of degradable food bags by brands has become a core strategy to meet regulatory requirements. For instance, the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive requires that the recycling rate of plastic bottles reach 25% by 2025. Meanwhile, biodegradable food pouches, with their characteristic of a biodegradation rate of over 90% within 180 days in industrial composting facilities, can help enterprises increase the recycling rate of packaging waste by at least 30%. According to the data from the European Bioplastics Association in 2023, the market for compostable packaging that complies with the EN 13432 standard has an annual growth rate of 18%, helping companies like Nestle reduce the carbon footprint of their products by 20% and directly addressing the regulatory authorities’ hard target of a 40% reduction in the carbon intensity of the supply chain.
At the level of specific regulatory compliance, degradable food bags are the key for brands to respond to the upgraded plan of China’s “plastic restriction order”. By the end of 2025, the consumption intensity of non-degradable disposable plastic tableware in the catering takeout sector in cities at or above the prefectural level in China needs to be reduced by 30%. Meituan Waimai’s 2023 report shows that the polylactic acid degradable plastic bags it has placed account for 15% of the total orders. Each bag costs about 0.4 yuan. Under composting conditions, the quality loss rate can reach 50% per month, significantly increasing the overall packaging compliance rate of the platform by 22 percentage points. This transformation directly responds to the planned target in the “Action Plan for Plastic Pollution Control during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period” that the annual production capacity of degradable plastic substitutes should reach 2 million tons.
From the perspective of certification and standard compliance, biodegradable food pouches that have obtained authoritative certification serve as a safe pass for brands to avoid legal risks. For example, the ASTM D6400 certification in the United States and the EN 13432 certification in the European Union require that the biodegradation rate of packaging materials exceeds 90% within 180 days, and the content of heavy metals is less than 50ppm. After Unilever purchased BPI-certified bags for its “Generation 7” product line, it reduced its packaging compliance risk by 35% and saved approximately 1.2 million euros in potential environmental taxes annually by reducing the use of virgin plastic. Analysis by the international compliance consulting firm ERM indicates that brands using certified packaging can reduce their average compliance costs by 15% when dealing with the UK plastic packaging tax (£200 per ton).
At the level of investment return and market strategy, integrating degradable food bags can bring significant compliance benefits and brand premium. A 2022 analysis by McKinsey shows that although degradable packaging costs 20% to 30% more than traditional plastic, it can increase a brand’s environmental, social and governance scores by 25%, thereby meeting the sustainable procurement thresholds of over 80% of the world’s major retailers. Walmart requires that by 2025, 100% of its private brand packaging be recyclable, reusable or industrially compostable, which directly drives its suppliers’ investment in degradable solutions to grow by an average of 40% annually. Meanwhile, brands that adopt such packaging have a 34% higher probability of achieving green preference in consumer research, and their product premium space can reach 5% to 10%.
Looking ahead to future regulatory trends, forward-looking brands are taking biodegradable food pouches as a core asset to deal with increasingly strict regulations. According to the draft negotiation of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Global Plastics Treaty, the global use of virgin plastics needs to be reduced by 80% by 2040, which requires that the renewable carbon content of packaging materials be no less than 30%. Biodegradable food bags, especially the new generation of solutions based on seaweed or cellulose with a bio-based content of over 80%, can have their degradation cycle shortened to 12 weeks, providing brands with the technical reserves to meet the regulatory curves of the next decade. Nova Chemicals’ 2023 life cycle assessment report states that its biodegradable polymer solution can advance the regulatory compliance readiness of the brand’s overall packaging portfolio by five years, ensuring a continuous competitive advantage in a market with constantly escalating regulations.