PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2018

MATERIALS / RECYCLING PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 04/18 www.petpla.net 18 A far-reaching European enactment – what about the industrial solution? “Plastic packaging never returns into waste” by Heike Fischer It was perfectly timed; doubtless this was planned, shortly after the statement of the Euro- pean Union presenting their Strategy Paper for Plastics in a Circular Economy, released in January 2018, the entire PET value chain meets in Brussels for the annual Petcore Europe Conference. On February 7-8, 2018 more than 200 delegates from Europe and beyond gathered in Brussels discussing the “Strategy for PET in the Circular Economy”. A comprehensive conference programme included a number of the leading players in the sector: Christian Crepet, Executive Director of Petcore Europe and Paola Arlotti, President of Petcore Europe: speakers from the European Commission (DG GROW), the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as well as PCI Wood Mackenzie who all shared their thoughts on the PET market as well as the plastics industry in the European Circular Economy. The topic for the first day can be summarised in the title: Trends in PET collec- tion, recycling & sustainability, and perspective & strategy from the PET value chain. Helen McGeough from PCI Wood Mackenzie gave an overview of the 2016 PET collection and recycling rates as well as the key drivers of the market. According to her “economics is still a key driver of the PET market, however, sustainability is moving up the agenda.” With Alessandra Funcia, Head of Marketing at Sukano, one of the most frequently raised topics was introduced: The new recycling material challenges and opportunities of PET thermo- forms and ODR (opaque and difficult to recycling PET) containers. Ales- sandra referred to the working group of Sukano and Petcore. The working group defined the recycling guidelines for ODR containers and disseminates to promote them throughout the value chain: Improve sorting and establish suitable end applications for recy- cled material. In addition, the image of ODR containers and PET should be improved to help maintain and even increase post-consumer recy- cling performance as new applications are unveiled. For this to happen, new technical solutions have to be found in a fast-growing market of ODR PET bot- tles. The end of life status has also to be defined and the validating accepted standards conditions to streamline existing and future developments. This will endorse the EU action plan of ensuring that all plastic packaging is recyclable by 2030. As a preliminary conclusion, the working group raised some of the problems currently facing recyclers: a difficult economic situation due to low oil prices, the increasing presence of contaminants in bales, decreasing qual- ity and finally production yield. There is the need to increase recycling rates in the short term to add value to PET chain and the EU economy. The exist- ing technology tackles ODR bottles today but volumes remain relatively low. Higher expectations for additional ODR business would give the right recycling conditions and directions. Incentives to include recycled materi- als in new product design would boost the demand for recycled plastics. The group recommended a standardisation in the waste stream across the EU, an agreement on bale requirements and quality will directly and positively impact the market. But investing in expansion and modernisation of sorting and recy- cling capacity are lagging behind due to uncertainties concerning market outlets and profitability. The compounders are ready to consume coloured PET bottle flakes to provide it as mono-material. After this introduction, experts from the PET value chain gave a detailed market overview. First, Antonello Ciotti, President of CPME, spoke about perspectives for European PET manufacturers. In his view, “the circular economy directive requires a major modification in the actual packaging chain. That is why CPME members are introducing and supporting innovative and sustainable packaging solutions in PET.” Antonello was followed by repre- sentatives from the PET converting industry. First, Ana Fernandez from Klöckner Pentaplast stressed the impor- tance of sustainability when it comes to PET thermoforms: “We need to design packaging for the circular economy. PET has an excellent environmental profile due to its lightweight and recy- clability.” Ana also emphasised that “end-users have to be better informed since they represent the first step in the recycling process.” Paulo Correia, CTO Eric Liégoise, member of the EU comis- sion, presented the EU Plastic Strategy paper for the first time in public. Paola Arlotti, President and Christian Crepet, Executive Director welcomed their guests in Brussels.