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European Scrutiny Committee inquiry into ‘Regulating after Brexit’.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark and its trusted brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries, including the UK. Our 46,000 employees around the world, including over 1,200 in the UK with sites in Barrow, Northfleet and Flint, create products that support people’s most essential needs, from personal care to consumer tissue. Some of our well-known brands include Huggies®, Kleenex® and Andrex®.

At Kimberly-Clark, we are driven to provide the best for our consumers, our customers and the communities in which we work and live, all while minimising the impact on our planet. We aspire to be at the forefront of the transition to a circular economy – contributing to human and ecosystem health by reducing waste, ensuring the proper management of post-consumer waste and innovating new ways of giving consumers the products they need. We are proud of the steps we are taking to create the smallest environmental footprint in the areas where it can make the biggest difference. For example, in May this year, Kimberly-Clark was awarded the Net Zero Award at the UK CPI’s Gold Awards 2022.

Our Plastics Footprint programme sits at the heart of our efforts do this. It outlines some of our industry-leading commitments in this space, including making 100% of our packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025, reducing our use of new fossil fuel-based plastics by 50% by 2030, and ensuring that 75% of the materials in our products are either biodegradable or recovered and recycled by 2030. We are also part of the WRAP UK Plastics Pact, a collaborative effort between industry, NGOs and Government to tackle the problem of plastic waste and create a circular economy.

After Brexit, how can the UK now regulate differently?

Kimberly-Clark is currently working on R&D to facilitate sustainable alternatives to traditional fossil fuel-based plastics – including a new source material made from renewable plant-based polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA).

PHA is a naturally occurring, non-chemically modified biopolymer produced by microorganisms as an energy reserve. Crucially, PHA can be composted in both home and industrial composting facilities as it is fully biodegradable in all settings[1][2], as certified independently by experts at several notified bodies including TUV Austria and DIN Certco under relevant international standards.

The EU currently miscategorises PHA as a plastic under the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) Guidelines. However, a number of other natural polymers, such as regenerated cellulose, lyocell and viscose, are not categorised as plastic. PHA should be treated the same as these natural polymers and the UK should use its post-Brexit abilities to facilitate a divergent approach.

It is important to note that PHA was considered a plastic and hence not a natural polymer in the EU SUPD Guidelines because there was a desire to make the scope as broad as possible. The EU did not have clear criteria for biodegradability at the time of drawing up guidelines for the SUPD, making it difficult to make certain biodegradable materials exempt and leading to an un-scientific approach.

The EU SUPD also included a definition of natural polymers which took into consideration the extraction process, namely, fermentation. The EU SUPD makes reference to a REACH guidance on registration: “obligations which states that polymers biosynthesized via industrial fermentation process are not considered ‘natural polymers” and this is what captured substances such as PHA within the scope and therefore made them equal to fossil fuel-based plastics. However, fermentation is the procedure used to industrialise a process occurring in nature and does not have any relevance for the sustainability of the material, as presented in GO!PHA’s White Paper on PHA materials[3], nor in view of its viability as a substitute for fossil-fuel based plastics.

Research suggests there is no scientific reason that justifies treating PHA differently in comparison to other natural polymers. PHA produced in a controlled setting is exactly the same as that which occurs in nature.

Therefore, post-Brexit, the UK has the opportunity to supportively regulate natural polymers, that are both bio-based and fully biodegradable, so they are not considered plastic, which would lead to unnecessary barriers to driving sustainable science-led innovation that stands to solve environmental challenges such as plastic pollution. Fossil-fuel based plastic is causing serious issues for our planet; however, the qualities of plastic means it remains a crucial material type to use in essential products, in a way that maintains efficacy and keeps them affordable. With single-use plastic continuing to pose a growing problem, by taking a science-based approach to biobased, biodegradable and compostable materials such as PHA that are not plastic but can very effectively replace it in many applications, the UK could lead the way in the fight against fossil-fuel based plastic. This would be preferable to what the EU has done so far by also classifying as plastic innovative biopolymers that are, in fact, not plastic and which offer an innovative and effective alternative to fossil fuel-based plastics.  

It is also worth noting that the EU has recently adopted its negotiating mandate for the negotiations towards an international agreement on plastic pollution. In that mandate, the EU clearly indicates its interest to bring a discussion of biobased and biodegradable plastics into those negotiations. Therefore, it will be imperative for the UK to build a coalition of like-minded countries to ensure that those negotiations move forward using a science-based definition of plastic recognising that natural polymers such as PHA are not plastic.

In which sectors is the UK well placed to maximise the opportunities afforded by its newfound regulatory autonomy and, conversely, in which areas might diverging from the EU prove more challenging?

The UK’s strong science heritage and manufacturing presence means that the Government should utilise its newfound regulatory autonomy to champion science-led policymaking that drives and allows for sustainable innovation in product design and packaging. This will ultimately serve to benefit the UK economy and allow for innovation that can support more positive environmental outcomes.

At Kimberly-Clark, we are making significant investments to create more circular essential products such as wet wipes, sanitary products and nappies. This includes developing innovative new materials and alternatives to fossil-fuel based plastics that are renewable, recyclable or biodegradable, and partnering with global thought leaders and local stakeholders to build systems and infrastructure that meet our consumers’ needs, while leaving the smallest possible impact on the environment.

Our ambition is to be a leader in driving innovative solutions, which is supported by global action to address the challenges associated with traditional fossil-fuel based plastics.

By 2030, 75% of the material in our products will be either biodegradable or will be recovered and recycled. We are also aiming to reduce our use of new, fossil fuel-based plastics by 50%.

These goals are part of our global ambition to improve the lives of 1 billion people in underserved communities around the globe by 2030, with the smallest environmental footprint.

Achieving this ambition will take game-changing innovation, and we’re partnering with global NGOs, investors and leading innovators such as RWDC Industries to create this future. RWDC Industries is a biotechnology company on a mission to replace single-use plastics through innovative and cost-effective biopolymer material solutions such as Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). 

This is where the UK can maximise the opportunities afforded by its newfound regulatory autonomy to champion science-led policy that drives and allows for innovation – such as bio-based and biodegradable natural polymers. It is well understood that natural polymers are without exception biodegradable, as noted in scientific journals such as Polymers[4] which clearly state that biodegradable polymers are both naturally derived and artificially synthesized. This means defining plastic as that which excludes natural polymers, to allow for sustainable innovation of materials such as PHA, as outlined in our previous answer.

Any definition of plastics, particularly for the purpose of reducing plastics-related waste, should recognise the benefits of alternative biobased and biodegradable materials so long as they fulfil the following criteria:

• they fit the circular economy (i.e. enables complete recycling of materials to regenerate raw materials);
• they are renewable;
• they do not take significantly away from resources for food or feed;
• they help avoid pollution by being compostable and biodegradable on land and water.

At the same time, there are some situations – notably with respect to policies that impact the labelling of consumer products -- where it would be helpful for the UK to ensure that any future labelling requirements in the UK are consistent with EU policies to help drive down manufacturing and consumer costs and support cross-border trade, as well as to encourage recognition and compliance. A good example of this would be any future policies in the UK or devolved nations on single use plastics. At a minimum, products labelled in compliance with the EU SUPD should be able to circulate freely in the entire UK.

August 2022

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