At the BKV Symposium on November 8, 2023, new findings from recent BKV studies and projects were presented and discussed with further representatives in exciting panel sessions.
Around 90 participants from the fields of academia, economy, administration, consulting and NGO took part in the high-level event at the Representation of Rhineland-Palatinate in Berlin. The professional moderation was conducted by Dr. Frank Buckel, Advocacy Sustainable Solutions at Covestro Deutschland AG.
In the opening interview after the welcoming speeches by Michael Hauer, State Secretary of the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of the Environment, and Matthias Stechhan, Director of Polyolefin Sales at LyondellBasell and BKV Chairman, the importance of studies and scientific findings by the BKV as the plastics competence center was emphasized. These results contribute significantly to the objectification especially of political discussions in the context of the EU Green Deal and its regulations.
In the first session in the morning, Dr. Joachim Christiani, HTP, Dr. Thomas Kirschstein, Fraunhofer IMW, and Kurt Schüler, GVM, presented the results of their studies. These investigations examined the plastic value chain from product design, for example through the recyclability of plastic packaging, to instruments which foster plastic recycling and the potential for using recyclates in plastic packaging products. The results were the starting point for a lively discussion by the panel of the lecturers together with Dr. Helen Fürst, Fürst Group, and Katharina Istel, NABU. Especially, the current requirements proposed by the EU Commission for a new EU packaging regulation were addressed, in particular targets for recycled content in plastic packaging in sensitive applications like food. Here, the companies and associations in the plastics value chain feel themselves confronted with various problems which are partly unsolvable. For this reason, they are calling for more flexibility in the requirements of legislative targets, technology neutrality for recycling and sufficient transition periods.
In the second session in the afternoon, Dr. Jörg Rothermel, VCI, presented about the circularity of carbon in the context of future, climate-neutral chemical production by 2045. To this end, Ulrich Schlotter, BKV, highlighted the "Fact finding" study on the potential contributions of plastics to the carbon supply of the chemical industry through technology-neutral recycling in existing infrastructures. This was followed by a vivid discussion on plastics recycling with the speakers and Dr. Oliver Möllenstädt, GKV, and Dr. Klaus Wittstock, BASF.
Dr. Ingo Sartorius, Managing Director of BKV, concluded: 'The symposium was an extremely successful high-level event comprising all speakers, panelists and participants. The fact-oriented discussion with key players from the fields of economy, academia, administration and NGO is an important building block for carving out the most concrete and preferable solutions.
