The "We are Plastics" initiative, which sees itself as a driver of the circular economy, presented itself for the first time to the international trade audience including the media in Düsseldorf.

The joint initiative "We are Plastics" is spearheaded by the GKV Gesamtverband der Kunststoffverarbeitenden Industrie (General Association of the Plastics Processing Industry) and its five supporting associations, as well as PlasticsEurope Deutschland and the VDMA Fachverband Kunststoff- und Gummimaschinen (Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association). At a press conference following the official K opening press conference, the initiative provided information on its goals, tasks, resources and the trade show appearances of its members. In Düsseldorf, associations and the initiative will present themselves with programs at the special K areas of PlasticsEurope and the VDMA, as well as with the initiative's own trade show presence at the GKV booth. The initiative also reported on the progress and challenges of the transformation, its own activities and the expectations regarding political guard rails that it believes are needed to achieve a circular plastics economy. For the sponsoring associations of "Wir sind Kunststoff", which see themselves as companions and drivers of the circular economy, investments in established and new sorting and recycling processes, design for recycling and the development of new raw material sources are the "pressure points" on the way to a circular economy. The initiative also calls for a significant change in the way plastic waste is handled. They must be understood as valuable materials that make up an important part of the raw material base, is said. In addition, the right course must be set in national and EU policy. In the view of the initiative, there is an urgent need for a new list of priorities in the political agenda. At the national level, among other things, approval procedures would have to be significantly accelerated, sufficient affordable renewable energy would have to be made available for the German plastics industry, and a market-oriented and technology-open framework for raw material supply and the circular economy would have to be created.
 

Sources:

• kunststoff-zeitschrift.at (Oct. 20, 2022)
• Photo: © WeArePlastics