Building on the success of the first event in autumn 2015 which attracted around 120 participants from 22 countries, the upcoming symposium will also provide current information about national initiatives, the state of the art and trends in recycling agricultural plastics. Innovative products and services in the recycling field will be showcased in the accompanying exhibition.
A keynote speech by Professor Helmut Maurer of the European Commission will be followed by presentations on collection and recycling in this sector, including a look at the situation in certain emerging and developing nations, as well as by thematic blocks on collection systems, technological developments, motives and incentives for recycling agricultural plastics and on current trends in the sector. The speakers are set to come from European countries including Iceland and from Chile, South Africa and Canada.
As Jan Bauer, RIGK, explains: “Growing demand for foodstuffs from the world’s population means we must always be striving to improve efficiency in growing animal feed and field crops. Plastics products such as agricultural films, netting and yarns, irrigation systems, packaging for plant protection products and fertilisers or hygiene products have a valuable contribution to make here. Taking action to conserve resources and ensure sustainable business practices is a global obligation. So all players must aim to organize that as much used agricultural plastic as possible is taken back and safely recovered, exploiting the significant potential for recycling of these materials. Our second symposium will again present tried and tested solutions, suggest possible options and provide encouragement to take action.”
