Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to fund research into bioplastics.

Defra prefers to use the term ‘bio-based plastic’ instead of ‘bioplastic’ to avoid confusion with, for example, biodegradable plastics.

The Government is not currently looking to fund bio-based plastic research. Defra has previously funded research in this area as part of UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) £60m Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging programme, which supported a portfolio of 70+ projects with academia and industry. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is undertaking research on potential resource efficiency measures in the plastic sector, this includes bio-based plastics.