Plastics News Europe - October 2019 - 20

K2019 - CIRCULAR ECONOMY

There is no mistaking the single most dominant theme of this year's K show. At the stands,
in the halls, outside on the fairgrounds, the message is clear: the circular economy has been
embraced by the industry as the way forward for a sustainable future in which - importantly -
there is a place for plastics. By Karen Laird

Circularity takes
centre stage
A

ccording to Dame Ellen
MacArthur, the circular economy is based on the principles of 'designing out waste and
pollution, keeping products
and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems'.
But is this compatible with
the use of plastics?
The question is a legitimate one. To date, efforts
to comply with at least the
first two principles are considered by many to have
been woefully inadequate.
Public outrage and the ensuing debate about the ongoing problem of littering and the
unrestricted use of resources has
also forcefully impacted the plastics
industry, compelling it to come with a
response. The raw materials producers, in particular, have done so in
highly visible ways. The result has
been a steady chorus of pledges, declarations and commitments to contributing to cleaning up the environment and undertaking to work
towards a more sustainable plastics
industry.
The present 'take, make, waste'
model not only damages the environment but also slows economic
growth. The idea at the root of the
circular economy concept is quite
simple: once used, valuable raw ma-

Henning Wilts:
"If we succeed in
establishing a
closed-loop
economy, its
massive costefficiency would
encourage other
countries to
follow suit"
Photo: Wuppertal Institute/A. Riesenweber

terial can be processed at the end of
its service life and be reused to create
a new product - in an infinite loop.
While some materials have limitations that do not allow this, a vast
array of polymer materials are perfectly suitable for this approach.
Hence, a main focus of the EU's
ambitious Circular Economy Action
Plan is recycling, and creating the
conditions to improve the performance of the EU in this area. The
technologies are available, but many
prerequisites still have to be met.
Waste collection systems are needed
- if used plastics are to be recycled, a
sufficient quantity must be available.
And: processors must be able to
rely on the quality of the recycled
material, which often poses a problem. This is why Thorsten Kühmann,
Managing Director of the Plastics
and Rubber Machinery Association
of the VDMA, proposes the introduction of standards for recycled
materials. "So far, no one who uses
recycled materials knows what quality they will receive. This makes the
processes less reliable, because production cannot be influenced as
much as when standardised virgin

material is used. Standardised recycled material would be much more
acceptable."
In addition, as Henning Wilts,
expert for Circular Economy at
the Wuppertal Institute for
Climate, Environment and
Energy points out, there is a
lack of cooperation to promote a cross-company network of collection, recycling
and production, as well as
little or no exchange of data
among companies. At present, producers have no way
of knowing which polymer
material the recycler is generating at any given time, making
planning impossible.
Removing these obstacles is a
worthwhile effort, yielding both an
economic and environmental benefit,
according to the EU Commission. A
circular economy for plastics, it says,
will improve competitiveness. Wilts:
"If we succeed in establishing a
closed-loop economy, its massive
cost-efficiency would encourage other countries to follow suit."
All experts agree on one thing:
sustainable, global change and the
successful and permanent implementation of a circular economy require
support and cooperation along the
entire value chain, from the material
manufacturer to the end consumer.
The international plastics and rubber industry is highly conscious of the
responsibility it bears. As the benchmark for the plastics and rubber industry, K offers the consummate setting for highlighting both the issues
confronting the industry and the various ways in which these are being
addressed.
At K2019, recycling management
will feature prominently on the stands
and in the supporting programme.
The circular economy will be the
dominant topic at the "Plastics Shape
the Future" special presentation hosted by PlasticsEurope, and the VDMA
will organise the "VDMA Circular
Economy Forum" for K 2019.

OCTOBER 2019

Plastics News Europe - October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Plastics News Europe - October 2019