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Samenwerken
Samenwerken aan een circulair en duurzaam plastics systeem
Onze industrie speelt een essentiële rol in het verduurzamen van plastics. Om daar de noodzakelijke stappen vooruit in te zetten is een vereiste dat iedere partij in de levenscyclus van plastics betrokken is. Van de productie van grondstoffen tot de productie en het gebruik van plastics, tot de inzameling, sortering en verwerking aan het einde van de levensduur. Samenwerken is cruciaal voor het slagen van de transitie naar een circulair en duurzaam plastics systeem.Samenwerking in de waardeketenIn de plastic waardeketen werken we met veel partijen al volop samen aan ontwikkelingen als het design van nieuwe systemen, cultuur- en gedragsverandering, beter presterende producten, ecodesign innovatie en nieuwe infrastructuur. Onze leden boeken al veel vooruitgang in de verduurzaming van hun operationele processen en investeren volop in innovaties zoals mechanische en chemische recyclingtechnologieën, hernieuwbare en koolstofarme energie en ontwikkeling en opschaling van plastic uit alternatieve koolstofbronnen (biobased en CO2).
Projecten in de waardeketen
Nationale projecten
Europese programma’s
Mondiale initiatieven
Samenwerken tegen plastic vervuilingAls plastic producenten onderkennen we het plastic afvalprobleem en nemen we onze verantwoordelijkheid in het oplossen ervan. Dat doen we in samenwerking met publieke en private partijen. Via allianties op lokaal, nationaal en mondiaal niveau zetten we ons in voor het stimuleren van recycling, hergebruik en het opruimen van plastic afval in het milieu. We zijn nauw betrokken bij de ontwikkeling van wereldwijd Plasticverdrag, met bindende voorwaarden voor een oplossing van het plastic afvalprobleem per 2040.
Samenwerken aan duurzaam plasticAls industrie investeren we veel in wetenschappelijk onderzoek en in het actief uitdragen en delen van kennis en elen informatie met alle belanghebbenden. We dragen bij aan de ontwikkeling van standaard methodologieën, protocollen en analysemethoden, die noodzakelijk zijn voor betrouwbare data en gegevensopbouw over bijvoorbeeld de gevolgen van microplastics. Naast dat we hier nauw samenwerken met de wetenschappelijke wereld, zijn ook specialisten uit bijvoorbeeld de cosmetica- of de auto-industrie hier nauw bij betrokken.
Samenwerken aan innovatiesHet is uitdagend om producten en toepassingen te ontwikkelen die tegelijk hoogwaardig én duurzaam zijn. Het vergt veel innovatieve technologieën, te ontwikkelen door de beste wetenschappers, technici en vernieuwende denkers. Om die redenblijven we investeren in lange-termijn-samenwerkingen met universiteiten en hogescholen, overheden, burgers, lokale gemeenschappen en andere bedrijven in de waardeketen.
Door onze continue focus op innovatie en grote investeringen in onderzoek en ontwikkeling, procestechnologie en milieubescherming, weten we als industrie steeds meer voortgang en resultaat te boeken op het gebied van duurzaam plastics.
Europese programma’s
LIFE Blue Lakes
Microplastics in Europe’s lakes: tackling a rising concern
The LIFE Blue Lakes project aims to reduce and prevent the presence of microplastics in the Italian and German lakes through a series of actions involving institutions, local authorities, companies and citizens.
PlastiCircle
PlastiCircle comprises 20 European organisations, including Plastics Europe, that have joined forces to reinvent the way we treat plastic packaging. Funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, PlastiCircle is rolling out innovations in waste collection, transport, sorting and recycling, and aims to transform plastic packaging waste into valuable products. Developments include smart containers to increase collection rates of plastic waste, cost-effective waste transport systems connected to IoT cloud platforms, innovative optical sorting technologies to improve sorting, and new recycled plastic products.
Circular Plastics Alliance
Working with public and private partners via alliances at the local, national and global levels to encourage appropriate recycling, reuse and recovery of plastic waste pollution. With a projected contribution of 1.2 Mt of recycled plastics produced through chemical recycling by 2025, Plastics Europe plays a leading role in delivering on the European Commission’s Circular Plastics Alliance target of 10 Mt recycled plastics used in European products by 2025.
PolyREC
PolyREC is a non-profit industry association formed by Plastics Europe, VinylPlus, PetcoreEurope and Plastics Recyclers Europe, which aims to provide plastics recyclers and converters with a common data collection tool – RecoTrace™ – to record and monitor data on plastics recycling tonnages and recycled material use in Europe.
Read more
Operation Clean Sweep®
Plastics Europe has worked extensively with different organisations to promote Operation Clean Sweep®, and the vital role of the value chain in achieving zero pellet loss and how best to address issues such as marine litter. It’s a core part of our commitment to sustainability at the European level.
Read more how the plastics value chain is leading the way towards zero pellet loss.
Nationale projecten
Gestes Propres
Gestes Propres developed a national campaign to fight against discarded masks generated by the Covid 19 pandemic. This included awareness-raising materials that were communicated across France on outdoor and social media platforms.
The Plastic Museum
The Plastic Museum, the first 100% recyclable museum in the world, was born with the idea of being disassembled on International Recycling Day. Built entirely with plastics, it was broken down, reused and recycled in floors, walls and ceilings. Some materials will also be used to create products for the “I used to be a museum” collection.
Watch how The Plastic Museum was created.
Mondiale initiatieven
Plastics Europe supports a global framework for plastics aimed at reducing plastic waste in any environment. Our industry is harnessing the power of innovation and technology to significantly increase reuse and recycling.
Read more about our support for a global framework.
Marine Litter Solutions
Around the world, the plastics industry is engaged in collaborative work to help end ocean pollution. Members of the Global Plastics Alliance believe in integrated approaches for managing plastics resources that allow us to enjoy their benefits without trashing our oceans.
Find out what’s being done about marine litter.
World Plastics Council
We are a partner of the World Plastics Council. A platform for cooperation that engages the key leaders in the industry to address common issues and opportunities that are increasingly global. With innovations for cleaning oceans and rivers and finding new uses for plastic waste, they support the shift to a sustainable plastic future.
Read about their innovations.
Projecten in de waardeketen
Polyolefin Circular Economy Platform
The Polyolefin Circular Economy Platform (PCEP) was created as a collaboration between Plastics Europe, European Plastics Converters (EuPC) and Plastic Recyclers Europe (PRE). The platform will create a multi-stakeholder group to identify the barriers and opportunities to increase recycling in Europe, and work towards ensuring the supply of high-quality recycled plastics for the European market. This will drive economic growth and the creation of new jobs as Europe moves towards a more circular economy.
Styrenics Circular Solutions
Styrenics Circular Solutions (SCS) is a joint value chain initiative founded in 2018 by leading styrenics manufacturers, with membership continuously expanding across the value chain. They are the unified driving force to make the circular economy a reality for styrenic plastics, including polystyrene, through innovative recycling technologies and partner-driven solutions.
Operation Clean Sweep®
Operation Clean Sweep® is an international programme designed to prevent the loss of plastic granules during handling by various plastics value chain entities and their release into the environment. Companies that sign the European OCS pledge commit to a number of key actions designed to prevent spillage into the environment.
EsPlásticos
Plastics Europe is a partner of EsPlásticos, the Spanish plastics value chain platform. This initiative allows the Spanish plastics sector to better engage with policymakers and opinion leaders and demonstrate its value to society and contribution to sustainable development.
#InnovaPlásticos
We partnered with SusChem Spain to create #InnovaPlásticos – an annual event on plastics innovation for a low-carbon circular economy. Supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, #InnovaPlásticos shares state-of-the-art developments and success stories from member companies, brand owners, and start-ups.
Antwerp Zero Pellet Loss Platform
In Belgium, we collaborate with essenscia polymatters on a number of programmes. Plastics Europe also leads the Antwerp Zero Pellet Loss Platform – a value chain initiative gathering plastics producers, logistics and transport companies active in the Port of Antwerp – to initiate collective actions to tackle pellet loss in the Port of Antwerp. This includes a biennial Operation Clean Sweep® of the Port of Antwerp activity report and the launch of a sweeping plan for the port roads. In addition, there are regular best practice exchanges and awareness-raising communication sessions about pellet loss prevention. Multi-lingual communication tool kits have also been developed for truck drivers.
Further reading
Collaboration agreement on first-ever European Operation Clean Sweep® certification scheme signed
OCS Report 2019
OCS Port of Antwerp activity report (2019)
Transport Sector Engages In Cross-Sectoral Initiative To Prevent Plastic Pellet Loss In The Port Of Antwerp
