SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Philosophy of European plastics converters / Emphasis on conserving resources / New demands on production processes / Ecology served through "loop" production
The recent "K '95" plastics exhibition in Düsseldorf clearly pointed up the changes that have taken place in the industry since the last event three years ago. Although recycling and valorisation were certainly discussed at this year's fair, attention was focused more sharply on broader issues, such as the current industrial catchword sustainable development. The association of European plastics converters EuPC (Avenue de Cortenbergh 66, B-1040 Brussels) should be given credit for giving this often ill defined topic concrete political meaning.
In a statement issued at "K '95", EuPC president Joachim Eckstein of Hoechst's films business group outlined as follows the philosophy behind the European converters' implementation of the UN's sustainability goals:
•The use of raw materials must conserve resources. This means incorporating recycled material in the original raw material. Plastics should be processed in an energy-efficient manner so that the energy employed in the process is fully utilized. Production processes should be operated to generate as little emission as possible, which can be realized via the reuse of production waste.
• Applications should be designed as effectively as possible. This can be achieved by a high quality standard that leads to little scrap and waste. In addition, products made from plastics should stay in use for as long as possible. This can be made possible by application-specific properties, long useful life and reparability.
•Used products should be recovered in a way that preserves the material. This can be done by separating plastics from other materials. Separability can be taken into account during the production of new plastic products.
• Post-consumer products should be recycled economically in the form of a closed-loop system so as to be able to compete with raw materials in terms of costs.
• The necessary residual disposal of waste that can no longer be used should be carried out in an ecological manner, i.e. by keeping the demands on the environment in terms of space requirements and emissions to a minimum. Ecological disposal is afforded by the thermal use of plastic waste since the calorific value of used plastics equals that of oil and other fossil fuels.
• Today's prices of plastic products cover internal company expenditure on raw materials production and processing. The so-called external expenditure on the environment is not yet included in the price of most products. Plastics packaging in Germany is one exception. An additional fee is charged for the use of the Green Dot. The resulting revenues can be used to cover external environmental expenses. They are the key to a successful closed-loop system, stressed the president of the EuPC in his statement. Financing and profitability are the two conditions that environmental and recycling efforts must meet in order to ensure the feasibility of a closed-loop system in practical applications.
• Since an additional charge to cover environmental costs can distort competition, financing models should be established on a sector-wide basis, as demonstrated by the Green Dot in Germany.
In a statement issued at "K '95", EuPC president Joachim Eckstein of Hoechst's films business group outlined as follows the philosophy behind the European converters' implementation of the UN's sustainability goals:
•The use of raw materials must conserve resources. This means incorporating recycled material in the original raw material. Plastics should be processed in an energy-efficient manner so that the energy employed in the process is fully utilized. Production processes should be operated to generate as little emission as possible, which can be realized via the reuse of production waste.
• Applications should be designed as effectively as possible. This can be achieved by a high quality standard that leads to little scrap and waste. In addition, products made from plastics should stay in use for as long as possible. This can be made possible by application-specific properties, long useful life and reparability.
•Used products should be recovered in a way that preserves the material. This can be done by separating plastics from other materials. Separability can be taken into account during the production of new plastic products.
• Post-consumer products should be recycled economically in the form of a closed-loop system so as to be able to compete with raw materials in terms of costs.
• The necessary residual disposal of waste that can no longer be used should be carried out in an ecological manner, i.e. by keeping the demands on the environment in terms of space requirements and emissions to a minimum. Ecological disposal is afforded by the thermal use of plastic waste since the calorific value of used plastics equals that of oil and other fossil fuels.
• Today's prices of plastic products cover internal company expenditure on raw materials production and processing. The so-called external expenditure on the environment is not yet included in the price of most products. Plastics packaging in Germany is one exception. An additional fee is charged for the use of the Green Dot. The resulting revenues can be used to cover external environmental expenses. They are the key to a successful closed-loop system, stressed the president of the EuPC in his statement. Financing and profitability are the two conditions that environmental and recycling efforts must meet in order to ensure the feasibility of a closed-loop system in practical applications.
• Since an additional charge to cover environmental costs can distort competition, financing models should be established on a sector-wide basis, as demonstrated by the Green Dot in Germany.
15.12.1995 Plasteurope.com [20403]
Published on 15.12.1995