17 Apr 2018
Plastic-eating protein grown could revolutionise recycling and prevent thousands of tonnes of waste clogging up landfill sites and the world’s oceans.
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Plastics, Polymers and Rubber
MarketPlace Hub
17 Apr 2018
The aim of the workshop is to discuss what the bioplastics are made of and how they can save our planet.
16 May 2018
Tthis event will discuss the key barriers to the market transformation and the policy mix needed to remove these barriers and accelerate a large scale adoption of circular economy business models, technologies and practices.
The Role of Business in the Circular Economy: Markets, Processes and Enabling Policies
The role of business in the circular economy: Markets, processes and enabling policies
The circular economy is attracting significant interest worldwide, as evidenced by the numerous government strategies, business commitments and partnerships devoted to its development. At the EU level, the Action Plan for the Circular Economy and several other policy documents have demonstrated a strong commitment to move towards a low-carbon and circular economy. While the calls for a new economic model grow louder, it is clear that the transformation of markets and industries on a large scale will not be an easy achievement. It will require well-designed and ambitious policies to foster the transition as well as new business models. Against this background, CEPS brought together executives from major multinational companies as well as representatives of business associations, non-governmental organisations and research institutes to form a Task Force charged with tackling the immense challenges associated with the circular economy. This report is the outcome of their deliberations. It analyses the key obstacles that need to be addressed, explores numerous policy areas at the EU and national level where support can act as a catalyst for market transformation, and puts forward actionable policy recommendations.
28 Mar 2018
The project Bio+, led by the bag manufacturer PICDA and coordinated by AIMPLAS, will allow to develop customized compostable materials for plastic packages, bags and tableware.
PET to PET Reycling:The bottle-to-bottle loop
In operation since 2007, PET to PET Recycling Österreich GmbH focuses on the production of food-grade recycled PET, which is used for “bottle-to-bottle recycling”, a globally unique and resource-efficient recycling loop in which old PET bottles are turned into new ones.
Circular comfortable furniture, made from recovered (ocean) plastics
The company Van de Sant Innovations BV designs and manufactures comfortable sustainable furniture, made from recovered (ocean) plastics.
20 Mar 2018
New Plastic Planet campaign animations have been developed, which are now available for use and download for free from WRAP' Resource Library.
Simina Lakatos
About this contact:
Simina LAKATOS is founding President of the Institute for Circular Economy and Environment "Ernest Lupan" (IRCEM) since 2012. Simina has economical and technical knowledge, abilities and experience: she holds a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. Honours in Materials and Environment Engineering. She obtained a Doctorate in Engineering and Management in 2011 after defending her thesis on Corporate Social Responsibility.
Simina has been part of the Department of Management and Economical Engineering of UTC since 2011, where she teaches and researches the following areas: Sustainable Development with focus in circular economy, Strategic Management with focus in social economy, Enterprise Assessment and Marketing and International Management, all of which helps her to develop the IRCEM. Her focus is to accelerate, national, regional and EU, the transition towards circularity from the bottom up with concerted actions, developing practical and scalable solutions, organized local-regional-EU campaigns, communicating and involving others in the dissemination of the circular economy information and sustainable development message. Simina is Romanian and is fluent in English and Italian.
Ecopixel: Recycled and Recyclable Plastic
Collecting, reusing or recycling plastic (*LDPE) trash, stepping up the use of recycled plastic and modifying product designs to minimize new plastic use. Ecopixel aims to keep the material pure so that also after this cycle it can be recycled a third or fourth time and so on ...
Towards circular economy in the plastic packaging value chain
CIRC-PACK project aims at more sustainable, efficient, competitive, integrated and interconnected plastic packaging value chain with less fossil fuel dependence.
2 Mar 2018
The European Commission is aiming to reveal its plan to curb single-use plastics in May.
26 Feb 2018
Recycle Now plastics campaign
20 Feb 2018
The EU said in last month’s Plastics Strategy that it wants to boost how much plastic is reused and recycled.
Laura Cutaia
About this contact:
Laura Cutaia, researcher at ENEA is an Environmental Engineer (1996) with a PhD in raw materials engineering (2002). Her main research topics are:
- Industrial ecology and Symbiosis,
- Technology for raw and secondary materials treatment,
- Resources management,
- Life Cycle Assessment,
- Environmental Certification,
- End of life management.
Laura Cutaia is the Responsible of Laboratory for Valorization of Resources at ENEA , where she is working on circular economy and resource efficiency, industrial ecology and symbiosis, LCA, environmental certification schemes, REACH regulation and sustainable industrial areas (more information).
Laura Cutaia is also the President of SUN - Symbiosis Users Network (Italian network for industrial symbiosis) and the President of UNI CT 057 on Circular Economy that is working with ISO TC 323 on circular economy. UNI is the Italian competent body for standardization.
Packaging & Circular Economy
As is the case with Mr. Jourdain, who was unaware of what he was writing, industries involved in packaging have already implemented the circular economy model. Results in material recycling are relevant proof thereof. Industries are not getting involved in this process out for ideological reasons but because it often makes sense from an economical point of view. Since we were lucky enough not to be starting from scratch, we offered a tangible approach through illustration for each main material and/or packaging category from: glass to paper, cardboard, food cartons, steel, aluminum, wood, and plastic materials. This also includes the energy consumed by the different materials and the waste produced by all the different activities involved. By digesting some of the best existing or developing practices, we wish to make the circular economy model a fully-fledged part of the packaging sector.
Leon de Graaf
About this contact:
As an adviser for environmental and climate policy, Leon de Graaf particularly follows policies related to the circular economy, trade and climate, low-emission mobility, implementation of the Paris climate agreement (COP21) and the European emission trading system (EU ETS). He is also deputy manager of BusinessEurope's corporate Advisory and Support Group (ASGroup). Prior to joining BusinessEurope, Leon worked at the research consultancy Ecorys, focusing on renewable energy and international development issues, at DG COMP on energy and environmental subsidies in Europe, and at the Dutch Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) on indirect ETS costs for energy-intensive industries. Leon has a MSc in environmental economics and climate change from the London School of Economics, and a BSc in business economics from the University of Groningen.
Carsten Wachholz
About this contact:
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity with the aim of accelerating the transition to the circular economy. Since its creation, the charity has emerged as a global thought leader, establishing the circular economy on the agenda of decision makers across business, government and academia.
Carsten Wachholz joined the Foundation in 2020 after two years working for the European Investment Bank on Corporate Responsibility and another four years working for the European Environmental Bureau on the first EU Circular Economy Action Plan. Carsten leads the Foundation's newly established Brussels-based team supporting the development of circular economy policies at EU and international level (e.g. G20, OECD), in close collaboration with the Foundation's systemic initiatives on plastics, fashion and food.
14 Feb 2018
REPESCA_PLAS project in the framework of the Fundación Biodiversidad Pleamar programme
8 Feb 2018
Comment mieux gérer nos déchets ?
Giving plastic bottles a second life through “Bottle-to-Bottle” in Rostock
Every year in Rostock, Veolia converts 1 billion PET drinks bottles into so-called recyclate from which preforms/bottles can again be manufactured.
From expired bank cards to urban furniture
Caixa identified the development of a recycling circuit for expired or damaged cards as an opportunity for improvement: bank cards (expired or at the end of their service lives) and non-bank cards (for example, loyalty cards made of plastic) are valued through plastic recycling..
Attero InfiniteFilm: high-end post-consumer film recycling
24 Kton annualy will be converted into LDPE re-granulate in the new recycling factory Attero is building in Wijster. Contaminated film is cleaned and turned into a high quality and odorless re-granulate.
Cardyon: reuse of CO2 for polyols production
Covestro has developed an innovative technology that allows using CO2 as raw material for the production of chemical building blocks for high-quality plastics.
Cradle-to-grave recycling process at Mosca GmbH
Mosca's PET strap is made from 100% recycled material: the so-called "bottle flakes" are a result of recycled plastic bottles coming from the empties of discounters.
LIFE RECYPACK: public-private waste management for commercial plastic packaging
The LIFE RECYPACK project will implement a new public-private waste management project for commercial plastic packages in line with the circular economy criteria.
24 Jan 2018
Reducing marine litter: action on single use plastics and fishing gear
19 Jan 2018
The first-ever Europe-wide strategy on plastics was adopted today as part of the transition towards a more circular economy.
15 Jan 2018
The Circulars: the People’s Choice Award