PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2020

PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 04/20 www.petpla.net 35 TRADE SHOW REVIEW 35 TRADE SHOW REVIEW In the second session of the first day, experts from the PET value chain gave strategic outlooks from the PET producers’, converters’ and recyclers’ point of view. Steve Scott, Chairman of the Com- mittee of PET Manufacturers Europe (CPME), addressed the PET market from the European PET producers’ per- spective, providing his analysis of market developments as well as innovation and investment challenges. For 2020 3,466kt PET will be produced. It is a growth of 0.9% according to 2019. The big players will be Indorama with 33%, Neo Group with 13%, JBF 11% and Alpek UK with 11% of PET production. Nicolas Lorenz, from PACCOR, gave a converter’s vision for the future in his presentation, in which he focused on PET trays. The presen- tation showcased key areas for the future of PET and contained a strong message to the value chain: “We, the packaging manufacturers must work together to find out how packaging can be connected with the environ- ment in the future.” He highlighted that the packaging of the future has to have the ability to communicate within the complete value chain but also with the new generation of consumers. For him the key lies in the digitalisation of packaging. In the third presentation Casper van den Dungen, Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE), gave a summary on what has changed in the past 12 months as well as an overview of the efforts needed to meet future recycling targets. To reach the targets of rPET production in 2025 a capacity of 520kMT plus are needed and have to be manufactured in 20 new recycling plants. By comparing the cur- rent situation of already existing deposit systems and planned systems for 2025 there will be a lack of 420kMT in PET collection. Casper concluded: “The PET bottle collection is the main devel- opment which needs to advance in info@hasplastik.com Tel: +90 212 695 50 00 Fax: +90 212 694 97 24 100815dmyR .com reaching 77% collection target in 2025. New deposit bottle countries are planned until 2025 but more is needed. 520kMT new bottles to bottler PET capacity is required, target 4-5 plants/year, new or upgrades. Standards are needed for both feedstock & rPET for mineral water or soft drinks.” The third and last session of the day focused on technical challenges for the PET industry. Marie- Catherine Coquin from Danone and Cesar Velilla from Nestlé Waters provided an overview of good practices for NIAS (non- intentionally added substances) evaluation and the work of the Petcore Europe Special Indus- try Group on PET NIAS (PING). The second day of the conference started with the morning session focusing on “PET in the circular economy - a global perspective”. A sig- nificant highlight of the confer- ence was the presentation by Rana Pant from the European Commission. Rana, Policy Officer at DG ENV focusing on the SUP Directive, gave a detailed overview of the SUP Directive and Essential Requirements in the PPWD. He insisted on an evaluation and follow-up of the new regu- lations by the European Com- mission as well as most likely an elaboration of a positive & negative recycling list. Professor Kim Ragaert from the University of Ghent presented what is needed to make PET pots, tubs and trays roll down the bottles road into circular economy. Kim concluded her presen- tation by stating that bottle- grade PET made it to the pos- terchild of plastics recycling due to industry collaboration. PET trays have the same potential; with a few neat tricks provided by science it can follow the bottles into circular economy. After ana- lysing the feedstock quantity, quality and collection, sorting, separation and pre-treatments polymer science to predict quality should be used. F.l.t.r.: Stephen Scott (CPME), Casper Van den Dungen (PRE), Nicolas Lorenz (PACCOR) and Stephen Short (Petcore)