Sustainable seed solutions Crops and Products Technologies News About us Contact Log in English MICROPLASTIC-FREE SOLUTIONS ARE HERE TO STAY Are microplastic-free solutions just another trend in the seed treatment industry? Can we match the performance of conventional microplastic-containing seed treatments? Or will the new formulations need to compromise on some of the aspects of product quality? Microplastics in the seed industry became a hot topic two years ago. In 2018 the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) published their first draft restriction proposal in which seed treatment featured as one of the industries that contributes to intentionally added microplastics in mixtures used by consumers or professionals. By now most people in the industry are aware of the restriction proposal and the potential consequences it may bring to the seed industry. Even though lots of seed treatment producers have started development work to find good alternatives, some of them have been proven to not work as well as existing solutions, jeopardising quality and therefore the safety of the treated seeds for farmers, the environment and factory workers. Some of the improvements brought by seed treatment include better dust-off, flowability, abrasion resistance, cosmetics, growth, yield, shelf-life and germination. Not forgetting the decrease in the amount of the plant protection product that needs to be applied compared to the traditional spray application. None of it would be possible without careful selection of the right polymer from a broad range of available polymers chemistries. So, the questions really are: can the new microplastic-free formulations address those challenges as well as their predecessors? Can we expect that a microplastic-free formulation that eventually degrades in the environment will still be robust enough to protect the seed, the farmer, the environment and the factory workers? Following this, the current definition of microplastics was based on the term ‘polymer’and many may argue that not all polymers are plastics but all plastics, and therefore all microplastics, are polymers. One reason for this was that the term ‘polymer’ is defined under REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) whilst plastics are not. ECHA recognises that polymers that occur in nature in solid or semi-solid particulate form, like cellulose or starch, can be inherently biodegradable and therefore should not be consider microplastics. Nonetheless, additional data on the release to the environment and biodegradability might be required for the exemption. Next to that, polymers that are water soluble will also remain soluble after release into environment, therefore they are unlikely contributors to the microplastic concern. Still, there is a need for the appropriate threshold value for demonstrating solubility, which is under discussion now and will most likely be added to the final restriction. More about Mission Zero PRODUCTS Search our product database for all our products Find MSDS Search for a material safety data sheet Search CONTACT Westeinde 107 1601 BL Enkhuizen The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)228 358000 Incotec on LinkedIn Incotec on YouTube © 2021 Croda International Plc | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy | Accessibility statement | Conditions of Sale About cookies on this site By continuing to use this website, you agree to the use of cookies. You can find out more details in our Privacy policy. Live Chat