Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research her Department is (a) carrying out and (b) encouraging into extending the use of materials that biodegrade more quickly.

Rory Stewart

In October 2014, Defra commissioned the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) project on biodegradable plastic carrier bags – solutions through innovation. The project is contracted to the plastic packing manufacturer Aquapak Polymers Ltd, and is due to report in December this year. The project is testing the biodegradability of a hydrophilic polymer under simulated composting and anaerobic digestion conditions, and in experiments simulating natural conditions, and testing the impact on aquatic life.