Zero Waste Europe Feedback to the EU Bioeconomy Strategy

The EU Bioeconomy Strategy must avoid promoting material substitution for its own sake. Simply replacing fossil-based materials with bio-based alternatives does not guarantee sustainability. What matters is reducing overall material and resource consumption within planetary boundaries. Bio-based materials must not serve as a smokescreen for increased production and consumption.

Zero Waste Europe sets out its recommendations for the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, urging policymakers to prioritise resource sufficiency, genuine circularity, and chemical safety, warning that bio-based materials are not automatically sustainable, circular, or safe substitutes for fossil-based ones.