Almost daily, new activities would be presented across the plastics value chain to recycle more plastic waste and use alternative raw materials in plastics production. Important approaches sees Bühler in sustainable product design, improved waste sorting technologies or diversified raw material sources. In parallel, legislative measures towards a European circular economy are increasing.
Ingemar Bühler, CEO of PlasticsEurope Germany, matches some of these current developments within the plastics industry with the current legislative measures towards a European circular economy. Only recently, the Council and Parliament of the European Union announced their agreement in principle to the Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) of the EU Commission. The Action Plan aims to reduce CO₂ emissions, stimulate economic growth and create new jobs. According to Bühler, plastics producers were already an important part of the transformation process initiated by the CEAP. "Turning away from the linear consumption of resources has long since arrived as a goal among politicians, industry and society. Our industry is driving the rethink towards a circular economy in which we continue to use resources for as long as possible in a variety of ways," says Bühler, who also cites some examples.
For example, one of the member companies of PlasticsEurope Germany would have recently opened a modern recycling plant in Rhineland-Palatinate together with a Norwegian partner. A company in North Rhine-Westphalia is said to have established the use of CO₂ as a raw material for plastics production. He also cites examples from the packaging, electrical/electronics and automotive sectors that demonstrated the industry's efforts towards a circular economy and sustainable production methods.
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More information: https://newsroom.kunststoffverpackungen.de

Sources:

• newsroom.kunststoffverpackungen.de (25.2.2021)
• Photo: © PlasticsEurope Deutschland e.V.