PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 11/23 www.petpla.net 35 TRADE SHOW REVIEW taken in Makeni, a small community in Sierra Leone where the Zanchi family and GSI have been engaged for many years in the development and the improvement of the conditions of life of the local people. This huge commitment has yielded important results both in the agricultural and the chicken breeding field through SBD (Social Business Development), the local company created with the direct support of GSI’s St. Lawrence Foundation. The moving story of a local young employee of SBD who related how much his and his family’s life changed by this initiative of the Zanchi family, was presented to reaffirm the importance of continuing to support the St. Lawrence Foundation. The SBD channels donations, with the support of GSI, direct to the Sierra Leone community helping to create self-sustainability in one of the poorest areas of the world. Drivers of a sustainable packaging industry The afternoon session was opened by Hans van Bochove, of EU Corporate Advocacy Group, formerly at Coca-Cola, who discussed the drivers of a sustainable packaging industry. The importance of producers to understand customer concerns about packaging is often underrated, he said. Big investors are focusing much more today on sustainability, as are policy makers. By 2040, it has to be considered that the collection rate has to get up to 90%, with 65% of recycled content in bottles. He finally urged producers to think hard on their role in the decision, to be taken shortly, on whose responsibility it is to recycle the bottle. Are we running in circles? Following van Bochove, representatives and managers of the various sectors of the PET industries gave their views on the current topics on PET collection and related issues. For PET producers, Sharma of Reliance expressed their willingness to take responsibility in India for recollection of their bottles. Hikoji Kosaka of Toyotsu PET Recycling Systems, Japan, stated that his country is close to 100% collection rate, and that is done also through vending machines in cities. PET converters opinion was brought up by Oliver Wiegand, PET Verpackungen, Germany, who indicated that the mandatory deposit scheme for beverages is working very well in Germany. Luciano Geronimi, Valgroup, Brazil, introduced his large group of companies based in South America and Europe and its efforts in recycling which dates back to the 1980s. Zanchi at this point interjected, remarking how converters are working more and more in investing in the use of rPET. The opinion of the bottlers varied. Coert Michielsen of Refresco Group, stressed the point that it is necessary to use more positive communication on PET packaging, as customers are not showing a preference for it in comparison to glass, for example. Kurt Peelman of Coca-Cola said that the company takes full responsibility for reducing littering: it has made strong commitments to design for recycling since 2018. In 2030, the company aims to recollect 100% of their own bottles, and develop more and more in refilling, too. Tullio Versace, San Benedetto, Italy, said his group was one of the first in Europe to invest in recycling: his worries going forward were related to the price of rPET, its availability and, most of all, quality or products available. He would prefer to push for a bottle-to-bottle recycling policy in Europe, excluding fibre makers - a sensitive issue which caused some opposition in the audience from some fibre producers. Werner Bosmans of the EU Commission then came to the podium to defend the measures taken on plastics, necessary for consumer awareness. He said that the EU supports a flourishing European recycling industry. Following notes made by Zanchi previously at the event, Bosmans confirmed that the use of recycled material will be tightly controlled and cheaters will be severely prosecuted. Philippe de Baere again took to the podium to push EU commissioners to move towards more support and incentives on rPET instead of influencing the market through import restrictions and market regulations which are driving ‘unnaturally’ all material prices, rPET included. Francesco Zanchi addressed the audience, expressing gratitude for everyone’s participation and the valuable insights shared. This demonstrates the industry’s commitment to creating a better world, he said, despite the ongoing challenges affecting people’s daily lives and activities. GSI looks forward to 2024 and congratulated the PET industry which is seen as striving, improving in strength with the conviction of being on the right path to sustainability. www.gsiplastic.com Philippe De Baere, Managing Partner at Van Bael & Bellis The “bottlers” round table (f.l.): Coert Michielsen, Refresco Group, Kurt Peelman, The Coca-Cola Company, Tullio Versace, San Benedetto with Francesco Zanchi
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