PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2020

imprint EDITORIAL PUBLISHER Alexander Büchler, Managing Director HEAD OFFICE heidelberg business media GmbH Bunsenstr. 14 69115 Heidelberg, Germany phone: +49 6221-65108-0 fax: +49 6221-65108-28 info@hbmedia.net EDITORIAL Kay Barton Heike Fischer Gabriele Kosmehl Michael Maruschke Ruari McCallion Waldemar Schmitke Anthony Withers WikiPETia.info petplanet@hbmedia.net MEDIA CONSULTANTS Martina Hirschmann hirschmann@hbmedia.net Johann Lange-Brock lange-brock@hbmedia.net phone: +49 6221-65108-0 fax: +49 6221-65108-28 LAYOUT AND PREPRESS EXPRIM Werbeagentur | exprim.de Matthias Gaumann READER SERVICES Till Kretner reader@hbmedia.net PRINT Chroma Druck & Verlag GmbH Werkstr. 25 67354 Römerberg Germany WWW www.hbmedia.net | w ww.petpla.net PETplanet Insider ISSN 1438-9459 is published 10 times a year. This publication is sent to qualified subscribers (1-year subscription 149 EUR, 2-year subscription 289 EUR, Young professionals’ sub- scription 99 EUR. Magazines will be dispatched to you by airmail). Not to be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. Note: The fact that product names may not be identified as trademarks is not an indication that such names are not registered trademarks. 3 PET planet Insider Vol. 21 No. 01+02/20 www.petpla.net It is now clear to most of us that “environmental pollution from plastic waste” will ultimately have a major bearing on the uptake of PET bottles. So it is always interesting to take a look at how high-growth countries are dealing with the issue of “plastic”. Today, the focus is on Malaysia and China. Malaysia is once again returning a large amount of illegally imported plastic waste back to their countries of origin. 150 container ships with 3,737 tonnes of waste on board are on their way back to France, Great Britain, the USA and Canada. A further 110 tonnes are due to follow shortly, 60 of which will be sent to the USA, according to Malaysia’s Environment Minister, Yeo Bee Yin. Imports of plastic into Malaysia tripled between 2016 and 2019 which is why container vessels were sent back several times last year and is one reason for the significant increase which other Asian countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines are also experiencing. In 2018, China announced it would no longer process used plastic from other countries, citing the need to improve its environmental footprint. The country had previously imported large quantities of waste for recycling. Now, the People’s Republic has gone one step further in its fight against the flood of plastic with its Government’s imposition of a ban on plastic bags in supermarkets, as well as on the use of single-use plastic products such as cutlery, toothbrushes and combs in hotels and restau- rants. Strict rules are also to apply to courier services. These measures will come into effect in major cities from the end of 2020 and in smaller cities from the end of 2022. A nationwide ban on plastic straws will also be imposed from the end of 2020. With this plan, the Chinese Government hopes to “effectively control” environmental pollution from plastic by 2025 and to “significantly reduce” the amount of plastic waste held at disposal sites in major cities. We will see what all this means for the PET bottle. Your Alexander Büchler Dear readers,