Almost 100 plastics packaging industry representatives attended the recent conference on “The Future of Plastics Packaging”, organised by European Plastics Converters (EuPC, Brussels / Belgium; www.plasticsconverters.eu). Held at the organisation’s offices on 30 September, the event featured nine presentations followed by discussion.

The topics discussed included the environmental impact of plastics packaging, with Alan Campbell of the LCA Centre (Beuningen / The Netherlands; http://thelcacentre.com/en) calling for a verification of current environmental claims. Linpac Packaging’s (Featherstone / UK; www.linpac.com) Alan Davey focused on the role played by smart plastics in preventing food waste and contributing to resource efficiency, while the presentation by RPC’s (Rushden / UK; www.rpc-group.com) Brian Lodge highlighted the concept of open innovation in plastics packaging. Danone’s (Paris / France; www.danone.com) Philippe Diercxsens detailed the company’s efforts to raise consumer awareness about eco-friendly consumption.

In addition to these industry representatives, the conference also included presentations by associations and organisations. Elisabeth Hamdouch, of the European Commission’s Growth directorate, for instance, outlined the perspective of plastics packaging within the Circular Economy package, while Razvan Antemir of The European E-Commerce & Omni-Channel Trade Association (EMOTA, Brussels; www.emota.eu) looked at the online sale of plastics. Andrew Manly of the Active & Intelligent Packaging Industry Association (AIPIA, Utrecht / The Netherlands; www.aipia.info) examined the latest in plastics packaging technology, while Plastics Recyclers Europe’s (PRE, Brussels; www.plasticsrecyclers.eu) Antonino Furfari focused his presentation on the value of recycling plastics within the new Circular Economy.