Plastics

Centexbel-VKC, the Belgian competence centre of plastics and textile, and the Belgian Quality Association (BQA) established a consortium PolyCert Europe in partnership with the industry associations ECRA, EuPC and ESWA.

BSI, in its role as the UK National Standards Body, publishes the first standard for measuring the biodegradability of polyolefins. 

Four polystyrene producers and recyclers have initiated a Non-Disclosure Agreement to explore and optimize advanced recycling technologies for polystyrene, such as depolymerization. The agreement is intended accelerate steps by the industry to reduce plastic waste by creating a more circular economy for polystyrene.

Amcor and Nestlé are announcing a breakthrough in recyclable packaging, aiming to improve the environmental footprint of consumer packaging up to 60%, starting with wet cat food.

The main goal of the European Sparta project, coordinated by Aimplas with the participation of Tekniker, is to find a new method of recycling and reprocessing composite thermoplastic materials that reduces the amount of waste generated by the aerospace industry.

Following the cancellation of the traditional award ceremony and extension of the voting period due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Polymers for Europe Alliance is announcing the winners of the 2020 Best Polymer Producers Awards for Europe.

New guidelines are leading to an increase in the volume of PET bottles collected. With this influx of bottles, full service is becoming increasingly important. Reiling is prepared to fulfill this need, offering an entire range of services from collection to processing to creating end products.

As confusion over recyclable packaging design grow, OPRL is launching a new UK Certification scheme – Certified As Recyclable – to provide thoroughly evaluated and tested recyclability assessments. It is initially available for rigid and flexible plastic packaging.

Chemical Recycling Europe welcomes Recycling Technologies, a United Kingdom based company as a new member. The company has developed a technology which turns hard-to-recycle plastic into an oil used as a feedstock for new plastic production.

Ineos Styrolution and Amsty announce plans to construct a joint 100 ton per day facility in Channahon, Illinois, that will utilize the Agilyx advanced recycling technology to recycle post-use polystyrene products back into virgin-equivalent styrene monomer.

Toyo Ink has developed a new range of black plastic masterbatch for near-infrared sorting and subsequent material recovery. The new packaging masterbatch supports the recyclability of black plastic waste that is currently destined for landfill.