PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2019

TOP TALK PET planet Insider Vol. 20 No. 10/19 www.petpla.net 11 for the reheating process before the stretch blowing – the smaller mass of PET material can be heated much more easily. A side effect is that Neck- Lite is visible at the bottle neck and can therefore be advantageous from a marketing perspective. PETplanet: Where do you see development opportunities for ReduPET GmbH? Stefan Bock: The training ses- sions and system evaluations are currently establishing themselves well on the market. Practical specialised training sessions for production staff are more in demand than I expected. This also applies to refresher courses. This is definitely because the efforts pay off in many ways in production. Furthermore, we are also active in implementing individual measures for system optimisation, working closely with component manufacturers for these systems and thus developing innovative technical approaches. The main focus however is Mint- Tec and Neck-Lite. We are convinced that with the ongoing discussions about plastics among processers and through the pressure on legislators and machine manufacturers, innovations like these will be implemented. The PET bottle is a plastic product that hardly any other product can replace. But we must deal with the PET bottle more responsibly. And it is exactly here that ReduPET GmbH can offer further development opportunities, when we take on this responsibility. PETplanet: In your opinion, what are the greatest challenges for the plastics industry over the next ten years or so? Stefan Bock: Plastics are gener- ally better than their reputation. The main problem is that they are not always in the right place, or are used wastefully or not in the right composi- tion. After fulfilling their task, they are seldom seen as recyclable, i.e. as an important resource. And this is pre- cisely where the tasks of the plastics industry lie in the next ten years. But I am convinced that here too, global legislators have a great responsibil- ity and task to tackle. Because the plastics industry, and primarily the packaging industry, lives on low margins but on mass production, it is comparatively sluggish and inflex- ible in terms of changes to products or processes through innovation. As changes are almost always very cost intensive, there must be reconsidera- tion to avoid the risks that are hinder- ing the plastics industry. This is why new guiding principles and support measures applied by legislators to whole countries are so important. Unnecessary, resource-guzzling products must disappear from the market and the focus must be on guiding the material flows to after use and recycling. In my opinion, the focus doesn’t necessarily have to be on making plastic available again at the same quality level, as this also brings up the question on whether premium recycling also has a negative impact on the environment. It is also the responsibility of the suppliers of production systems to be encouraged to supply systems that take all of this into consideration and reflect on the future in a holistic and responsible way. Often, high- performance systems are delivered to developing countries with great pride, possibly even in exchange for financial incentives. But these high-performance systems ultimately produce rubbish on a grand scale, such as single use ice cream spoons – individually wrapped in foil – and the receiving country simply cannot deal with this. And it is here that there is little consideration. In short, for the next ten years, the challenges for the plastics industry are very varied, not only in our own back yard but globally. www.redupet.com www.mint-tec.com Compared to standard, with Mint-Tec is a 20% weightsaving on the base a common average. Mint-Tec left: minted preform with 1mm wall thickness / right: same preform not minted with 2.3mm wall thickness