Promoting Compostable Bioplastics in the APEC Region

The Asia-Pacific region faces the challenge of addressing pollution caused by plastic waste, due to a proliferation of single-use plastic items, over-packaging, littering, and the lack of appropriate labeling and adequate solid waste management infrastructure. Compostable bioplastics are seen as an innovative solution to help reduce plastic pollution in the environment while offering new opportunities for economies to use agricultural feedstocks, including low value byproducts in the production of bioplastics. Additionally, the growing market for compostable bioplastics products presents APEC economies with an opportunity to harness the potential of a growing circular economy to address the increasingly harmful societal impacts associated with plastic pollution. This study examines the current commercial landscape for compostable bioplastics, as well as related policy and market conditions, to provide a compendium of best practices to guide economies’ efforts in the trade and investment of compostable bioplastics products while reducing plastic pollution throughout the APEC region.