Environment

On 16 December the European Council formally adopted the Regulation on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR). The new rules aim to reduce the generation of packaging waste by setting binding re-use targets, restricting certain types of single-use packaging and requiring...

A specialist manufacturer of extrusion, injection and stretch blow molding plants based in Florence, Meccanoplastica embarked on its sustainability path in 2023 and, at the moment, already boasts the "bronze" certification of Ecovadis, a leading international provider of business sustainability ratings. After the...

European Bioplastics presented its 2024 edition of the market development update, confirming the continuous growth of the global production capacities of bioplastics. Overall global plastics production continues to rise steadily, and this development is driven by rising demand combined with...

EuRIC's Plastics Recycling Branch (EPRB) has published a roadmap on the future of the European plastics recycling industry, as the latter is currently grappling with extremely low demand for recycled materials and with unfair competition from third countries that threaten circularity in Europe...

The newest data from Plastics Recyclers Europe, the association of European plastics recyclers, points to a slowdown in the growth of Europe’s installed plastics recycling capacity. In 2023, the total capacity reached 13.2 million tonnes in EU27+3 which marks an increase of 6% year-on-year, making it the...

The European Union has set an ambitious goal of making all packaging recyclable on an industrial scale by 2030, advancing towards a circular economy model and placing particular emphasis on the role of plastic. This material, a fundamental resource for packaging, could become...

The RadiciGroup Sustainability Report reaches an important milestone this year: twenty years have in fact passed since the Group published its first Social Report in 2004, qualifying it as one of the pioneering companies in the realisation of voluntary non-financial reporting. The document measures the...

Neste, Alterra and Technip Energies have signed a collaboration agreement to advance the circularity of plastics by providing the industry a standardized technology solution for chemical recycling. The partners aim to globally offer a standardized modular solution, based on Alterra’s proprietary liquefaction technology...

The downward trend in the European plastics recycling market is alarming, Plastics Recyclers Europe warns, the association of European plastics recyclers, in a recent press release. The increasing lack of demand for recyclates produced in Europe, the reduced investments in domestic recycling, and the...

Lati Industria Termoplastici has been awarded the platinum medal by EcoVadis, the company's highest award for sustainability, placing it in the top 1% of the world's best companies in the plastics sector. Since 2014, Lati has been measuring and continuously improving its sustainability performance according to...

AP Moller Holding has launched Vioneo, a new venture dedicated to transforming plastics production. It will manufacture fossil-free plastic resins and significantly reduce the carbon footprint associated with plastics production. Vioneo has designed a production method utilising an innovative and proven technology to...

In the fourth edition of the Sustainability Report, Arburg provides a wealth of interesting facts and figures about it, its values and its successful sustainability activities in 2023. This year, the Lossburg-based company is also publishing a sustainability report in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards fo...

LyondellBasell is investing in a new closed-loop preparation centre in Lich, Germany, for transforming plastic waste into high-quality feedstock for high-performance materials, supporting the circular economy and contributing to industry sustainability goals. The closed-loop preparation centre supports...

Bridgestone EMEA, Grupo BB&G and Versalis announced the signing of an agreement aimed at establishing a closed-loop ecosystem to transform end-of-life tyres (ELT) into new tyres. The agreement will bring together the innovation, experience and technological skills of all three companies...

Trinseo announced the opening of its polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) depolymerization facility in Rho, Italy. The pilot facility represents a significant step forward in the company’s commitment to sustainability, as the next-generation recycling technology helps...

Announced on 20 June at the Plastics Recycling Show Europe in Amsterdam, the Plastics Recycling Awards Europe 2024 represent examples of the best advances in the circular use of plastics and their recycling technologies. For the first time in the seven-year history of the awards, the jury has...

European Bioplastics (EUBP), the association representing the interests of the bioplastics industry in Europe, has elected a new Board during its General Assembly on 4 June. For the next two years, the EUBP leadership team will be headed by Co-Chairs Mariagiovanna Vetere (Natureworks) and Franz Kraus (Novamont), and...

By participating as a strategic partner in the company BioBTX, Covestro is enabling the construction of the world’s first innovative demonstration plant for the BioBTX ICCP-Technology in the Netherlands. The technology makes it possible to produce chemicals such as benzene, toluene and xylene from organic and mixed plastic waste...

An infringement case has been opened by the European Commission against Italy for the "exceptions" introduced into the transposition of Directive 2019/904 on single-use plastics, the so-called SUP Directive. The European Commission sent a letter of formal notice to the Italian Government...

According to figures of Eurostat, the EU statistical office, in 2023 exports of recyclable raw materials from the EU to non-EU countries amounted to 39.3 million tonnes. Export volume in recyclable raw materials has been on an upward trend since 2004, increasing by 74% (+16.7 million tonnes). Meanwhile...