DutchPETRecyclingMay 1st 2020 Signatory European Plastics Pact
Dutch PET Recycling is proud to announce that they have signed the European Plastics Pact. We fully endorse the goals and will use our knowledge to contribute in reaching them.
More information about the European Plastics Pact you can find in this article.
By Roel Wollaert; Dutch PET Recycling _________ Arnhem, 21 April 2020
Some weeks ago, we started with an article about our business during the Corona or COVID-19 crisis. In this article we will give an update on how we are dealing with the circumstances and what we see happening around us.
In our own working process, nothing has changed drastically. We are used to work in a global network where we have contact with our suppliers and customers at a distance. However, not all parties concerned have the availability of all tools. That’s why, sometimes, we have to be patient and understanding. Especially in countries where a lockdown forces you to stay at home and one is not able to contact the bank for a transaction or check upon the Chamber of commerce for a Certificate of Origin.
Using disposable gloves, syringes, insulin pens, masks, catheters etcetera reduces the risks of infections. But it also makes the work process easier and faster because less material has to be sterilized.
In non-medical industries, plastic use is also increasing. Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts forbid reusable cups; the food industry is using more plastic to extend the shelf life and now uses the argument that plastic is more hygienic and easier to use. Restaurants try to survive by offering take away food in…(rPET-made) plastic boxes. Plastic protection screens are used for cashiers in supermarkets. Everywhere around you, more plastic is used due to COVID-19!
One may be worried about the limited volumes entering collection systems. Consumers (recycling) behavior is changing. People are buying bottles, but they don’t bring them back, they store it. Collectors in Asian and African countries are facing restrictions to do their job. Many will be looking at how used PET bottles are returned to the recycling stream during the outbreak. The availability of rPET might become scarce.
Demand for virgin PET has already increased significantly in March as Europeans began to buy food and other necessities in higher volumes. Plans of using more recycled plastic and reduce plastic waste, sometimes, seem to be no longer a top priority.
Another concern is the impact on logistics. Several countries have closed their borders and restricted the movement of goods and people, getting material to and from harbors and recycling units. Until now we only had some minor problems but recently most transport was running smoothly again.
Social distancing will become a way of life the coming months and maybe years. What this will do to our business is not easy to predict. For the time being, the majority of the recycling industry continues to operate without too much problems. Sudden local problems we will be able to handle, as our network is diversified. We will see what the future will bring us.
For now: Stay safe, healthy, and take care of the environment!
On behalf of all employees and agents at Dutch PET Recycling.
By Roel Wollaert; Dutch PET Recycling _________ Arnhem, 27 March 2020
Normally our posts are about market developments and news within the rPET or circular plastic industry. But the news nowadays is of course about the Corona virus. It affects all of us around the world. In this article we will give a brief overview how it has affected us so far and we will share some thoughts with you.
At Dutch PET Recycling everybody is working at home. Communication still goes rapidly with video calls and mailing. What we do miss is the face-to-face contact with our suppliers and customers. We are convinced that seeing is believing. That’s why we normally visit our suppliers and their production facilities. The time saved by not travelling we now use online. For example to promote our new website: www.dutchpetrecycling.com
At the beginning of 2020 the prospects for the recycling industry were very promising. Awareness about waste reduction and reducing CO2 emission is constantly growing. People do sort their waste more and more. Collection of waste becomes more efficient. Governments are setting targets for recycling and industries are thinking more about sustainable product designs and commit themselves to use more recycled material.
That all is good news for our suppliers. Some of them are relatively small companies, where quite a lot of families depend on. As far as we know now, the virus hasn’t caught them. Besides the health threat of Corona also an economic crisis is coming. Collecting waste might become more difficult. That will differ per region and luckily for us and our customers we have a great network of suppliers.
Sea transport is already facing some problems. Some ports do have restrictions or are locked down for a period. But most of the ports are still operating and must do that to keep the necessary (food) chains working. Also here people are working out of their home (office). This sometimes causes delay in communication. Also prices fluctuate a lot. Overall we are very satisfied with our freight forwarders who constantly think along with us to keep the service as high as possible.
The good news in relation to our customers is that most of them operate within the food chain. Plastic packaging for confectionery or fresh food. Being an essential producer means that you don’t need to go in a lock down.
We hope and wish that everyone stays healthy. The market developments before the Corona outbreak looked very promising and we are convinced that the world will conquer the virus. It will be a matter of time. The longer it takes the worser the economic crisis will be. But at the end we think the recycling industry has a promising future ahead and that we will quickly recover from this temporarily relapse.
Wishing you and all your beloved ones a healthy and economic fruitful future.
On behalf of all employees and agents at Dutch PET Recycling.
This article published by PlasticsEurope gives you good examples why plastics and climate can be an ideal combination. Especially if recycled PET or Food Grade pellets are used.
When it comes to climate change mitigation, plastics have a great story to tell.
Europe can only succeed on the global stage if it drives also the transition towards a low carbon, resource efficient and circular economy. For this to happen, plastics enable the innovations that are needed by a sustainability strategy – such as the European Green Deal – to deliver.
Key for Europe’s building & construction renovation wave
You do not necessarily see plastics in your building, but they are there. Plastics are a springboard for the renovation wave in the building sector as they enable big energy savings and are carbon efficient. Plastic insulation improves the energy efficiency of your home, which translates into a positive impact on climate. In fact, it saves up to 80% of your energy consumption and 250 times more energy than used to produce it.
“Tectonic” shift towards sustainable mobility
You may not be aware of where plastics are used in
your car, but they are doing their job for you – in car body parts, airbags,
carpets, electrification, under the hood, to name but a few.
Thanks to its lightweight properties, plastics contribute efficiently to fuel
savings which translate into lower CO2 emissions in diverse fields of
transport, including electric mobility. Plastics enable up to 35% fuel savings
compared to components made from other materials.
Preserving food from farm to fork
Food waste is one of the biggest challenges of our society. Plastic packaging saves food by protecting it from external factors – damage, deterioration, spoilage from farm to fork and ensuring hygiene. Research shows that, if food were packed in a material other than plastics, the related energy consumption would double, greenhouse gas emissions would nearly triple, overall weight of packaging would quadruple, and food waste would increase.
The weight of plastic packaging has been reduced by more than 35% over a 20-year period. Lightweight packaging means lighter loads or fewer lorries needed to ship the same amount of products, helping to reduce transportation energy, decrease emissions and lower shipping costs.
Transforming the energy sector
Plastics enable the production of clean and renewable energy as windmill blades and solar panels are made with plastics. In a nutshell, plastics can make the difference by providing solutions for affordable renovation of households, sustainable transport, easier access to safe food, clean, reliable and affordable energy.
“PET industry needs to focus on circularity and stop defending plastics”
PETCore President Stephen Short
By Matt Tudball
BRUSSLES (ICIS)–The polyethylene terephthalate (PET) market needs to focus on the positivity of circularity rather than trying to defend plastics, PETCore President Stephen Short said.
Opening the 2020 PETCore annual conference in Brussels, Short, addressing the 300-strong audience, said it is time to stop defending PET because “we have lost that battle”.
Instead, he said, the industry needs to play to its strengths, and to focus on the positive message of proving the recyclability of PET.
“We are in a zero tolerance world for plastic,” Short said. “We can’t speak about recycling, we have to prove it.”
This was a theme echoed throughout the opening day of the conference, with Christian Crépet, Executive Director Petcore Europe adding that the PET industry has an advantage over other polymers because it can be 100% recycled.
Another common theme running through the first day of the conference is for the industry to work harder and smarter to educate and inform consumers and policy makers on the benefits of PET when compared to other materials such as glass, paper and aluminium.
Paccor’s Nicolas Lorenz said the industry has the opportunity to inform the consumer around topics like CO2 emissions from plastics and other packaging materials, giving a balanced view on the advantages and drawbacks of each.
A good example of a manufacturer using recycled PET within the circular industry. A win-win situation for everyone. The article is in Dutch!
Adidas zal dit jaar nog minstens de helft van het polyester in zijn kledinglijnen uit tweedehands bronnen halen. Ook komen er shirts en broeken op de markt waarin 100 procent van het polyester gerecycled is. In 2024 is ál het polyester gerecycled.
| DOOR: MARC SEIJLHOUWER | https://www.duurzaambedrijfsleven.nl/
De plannen van het kledingmerk komen niet uit de lucht vallen. De afgelopen jaren nam het aandeel gerecyclede polyester toe; hardloopbroeken bestaan bijvoorbeeld al voor 55 procent uit gerecycled polyester. En in 2012 bracht Adidas kleding voor Olympische atleten met 100 procent gerecycled polyester.
Nu gaat het bedrijf recycling grootschalig toepassen. Daarmee is veel milieuwinst te boeken: polyester is een van de vervuilendste kledingmaterialen. Per ton vezel komt er zeven kilo CO2 vrij. Ter vergelijking: bij katoen is dat gemiddeld drie kilo.
Recycling kost minder energie
Voor Adidas is het gebruik van gerecycled polyester ook financieel interessant; de productie kost minder energie en bespaart daarom geld. De kwaliteit is net zo goed als die van ‘nieuw’ polyester. Adidas maakt het gerecyclede polyester van plastic petflessen. Dat maakproces kost 20 tot 60 procent minder energie dan plastic uit olie. De grote variatie in besparing komt doordat de kwaliteit van petflessen-afval kan wisselen.
Het is de vraag om Adidas’ duurzame ambities waargemaakt kunnen worden met plasticafval. Er moet namelijk wel genoeg (schoon) plastic beschikbaar zijn om de productie vol te houden. Adidas is niet de enige partij die petflessen wil gebruiken als alternatief voor kunstmatig textiel.
Terug naar de natuur
In 2030 moet de voetafdruk van Adidas met 30 procent gedaald zijn in vergelijking met 2017. Daarvoor recycled het niet alleen polyester; het bedrijf maakt ook schoenen van oceaanplastic en het heeft plannen om kleding circulair te maken. “Elk Adidas-product heeft straks meerdere levens en kan tenslotte terugkeren naar de natuur”, aldus de website.
BRON: ADIDAS | BEELD: ADIDAS
“Transport of containers on sea and all of the necessary paperwork is quite challenging. We got help of the logistics department of Dutch PET Recycling, their Agent and Freight Forwarder. We learned very rapidly how to do it. For instance a template for a packing list and advise on REX-registration. Al together it saved us time and costs.”
“Actually we were negotiating on prices and conditions. But meanwhile Dutch PET Recycling gave us a truly significant advise in changing the NIR and Colour sorting units in our production line. It improved our quality immediately. They really know what they are talking about.”
“At the start up of our local company, Dutch PET Recycling really helped us with some practical issues. For example the use of the right size Big Bag and how to fill them to the max.“
Op zoek naar een ecologisch én handig cadeau voor de feestdagen? Deze volledig gerecycleerde wijnfles kan je zelfs in de brievenbus steken. De fles is naast platter ook lichter, maar heeft toch een volume van 75 centiliter. David Attenborough gaf al aan fan te zijn.
e flessen zijn gemaakt uit gerecycleerd plastic en passen in de standaard Britse brievenbus. Brits bedrijf Garçon Wines wilde eigenlijk eerst gewoon een wijnclub zijn, maar kwam om op het idee om flessen te produceren toen een vriend van de oprichters klaagde over de moeilijke bezorging van wijn. De bedenkers van de handige verpakking verschenen in 2016 op de show van de Amerikaanse zender CNBC Pop Up Start Up en ontvingen 20.000 pond om het bedrijf te starten.
Naast plaats spaart de platte, moeilijk breekbare wijnfles ongeveer 1.89 miljard euro uit aan kosten van mislukte bezorgingen. Bij die mislukte bezorgingen hoort ook bijna één miljoen kilogram aan CO2-uitstoot, die dus door de handigere flessen bespaard zou kunnen worden. Door de flessen uit gerecycleerd plastic te maken, wordt bovendien in het productieproces 500 gram CO2 per fles bespaard.
Het idee won verschillende prijzen en werd door het magazine Forbes “de grootste vooruitgang in wijnverpakking in 200 jaar” genoemd. Ook bioloog en presentator David Attenborough is fan. Santiago Navarro, een van de oprichters, verklaarde aan Euronews dat de wijnindustrie slechts recent is beginnen nadenken over het milieu. “De meeste wijnbedrijven denken niet na over de verpakking, ze gebruiken gewoon wat er op de markt is. Het is een verouderd model, alsof we een 19e eeuws schip zouden gebruiken in de 21e eeuw.”
De flessen kosten 16,57 euro per stuk. Ze hebben onder andere een Chileense Sauvignon Blanc en Merlot, en een Spaanse rosé in hun gamma.
Het bericht “Deze wijnfles is gemaakt van gerecycleerd plastic en past in de brievenbus” verscheen eerst op Metro.