The UK government has called for experts to help it develop standards for bioplastics and biodegradable plastics, amid rising concern over greenwashing.
The government has published a document seeking evidence on potential "demand, benefits, and implications of standards for bio-based and biodegradable plastics".
The call is set out in a paper, called Standards for bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics: call for evidence, which was published earlier this summer.
The call is intended to gather information to help the government decide how to implement standards for a new generation of plastics that can be manufactured and disposed of without harming the environment.
Current terminology "really confusing" Designers welcomed the move. Sophie Thomas of environmental communication design studio Thomas.Matthews said current terminology was "really confusing" and that designers and the public were struggling to get reliable information.
As a result, "greenwashing" is on the rise, she said, with brands making spurious claims about the environmental benefits of their products.
"You can call something 'biodegradable' when it's actually not," said Thomas, who founded The Great Recovery, a programme exploring design's role in the circular economy.
People assume that compostable plastic can be composted in the garden, she added, without realising that certain types will only break down in an industrial composter. "So y...