EVENT REVIEW PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 11/21 www.petpla.net 44 to be done, such as improving the sourcing of raw materials through efficient collection systems and expanding into new PET applications. To avoid competition for rPET, for example, closed loops tray-to-tray or textile-to-textile could be established. Bruno Langlois from Carbios and Philippe Bonningue, Group Global Director of Sustainable Packaging and Development, L’Oréal, presented the Carbios infinite enzymatic recycling process. In June, L’Oréal announced the realisation of the first cosmetic bottle made from plastic entirely recycled using Carbios’ enzymatic technology and the aim to put into production the bottles based on this development in 2025. Two panel discussions concluded the conference. Antonello Ciotti Chairman CPME, Paul Hodges Chairman New Normal Consulting, Rohit Maindwal COO JBF and Stewart Hardy Senior Consultant Nexant were the participants of the first round ‘Defining a new strategic direction for the PET value chain’. Participants quickly agreed that sustainability and recycling are the order of the day, but that the old supply chains are not working sufficiently to meet demand. Ciotti explained that in 2018, rPET was available in the European market in a quantity amounting to a maximum of 23% share. Brand owners who operate with a higher recycled content of 50 or even 100% are thus denying competitors access to the material. Ciotti indicated that even with deposit systems, it would not be possible to achieve the required proportion of recycled material within Europe. In this context, the risk of greenwashing was also pointed out: it must be possible to prove that the reported recycled content is a fact. Hardy raised the question whether it is responsible for a brand to go for a 100% rPET content if this is not possible for the market as a whole? He pointed out that with brand pledges for high rPET rates, a further increase in rPET prices will be seen. So instead of a global growth in recycling, an association of global rPET with high priced premium goods will arise, he worried. Participants of the last panel discussion ‘Advancing sustainability during a time of increased volatility’ were Andrew Almack, Founder & CEO Plastics For Change, Ian Rosenberg, CEO First Mile, Raffi Schieir, Director Bantam Materials UK Ltd. and Matt Tudball, Senior Editor Icis. Together they discussed business models that generate feedstock from the global south. The most important issues addressed in this context were the social impact on local communities and business aspects in terms of quality, traceability and certification of the material. Almack and Rosenberg both pointed out that in the global south, supply and demand figures of rPET are reversed compared to Europe. While the material is there, regulations prevent using rPET in any food or beverage packaging. According to Raffi Schieir, one of the main arguments for using recycled plastics from the global south are CO2 emissions: these only account for 1/5 of the CO2 emissions of new plastics - including transport. He calculated that a container loaded with recycled materials, for example from Southeast Asia or South America to Europe, accounts for 13,000 (S.E. Asia) or 14,000 kg (S. America) of CO2. A container with virgin material, on the other hand, would produce ~68,000 kg of CO2, a plus of more than 50,000 kg of CO2. Also, in terms of emissions, the container shipping would be significantly lower than a transport by truck in Europe. Almack confirmed this with an example from India: Emissions would be significantly higher for a truck transport from the north to the south of India than a cargo ship from India to a European port, he stated. www.icis.com
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