NKWS: Guidepost for a Resource-Efficient Future
08.01.2025
On 4 December 2024, the Federal Cabinet adopted the National Circular Economy Strategy (NKWS). This strategy aims to accelerate the transformation of the German economy towards a more sustainable, resource-conserving model. It aims to reduce the consumption of primary raw materials and orientate value chains towards circular use.
Falling EU Competitiveness Threatens Circular Plastics Transition
02.12.2024
New data from Plastics Europe reveals a concerning trend: European plastics manufacturing has faced a steep decline, with total production dropping by 8.3% in 2023. For the first time, mechanically recycled plastics have also seen a 7.8% reduction. These challenges jeopardize Europe’s leadership in sustainable plastics and its transition to a circular economy.
FAQ on the Plastic Tax
14.02.2024
In response to the growing environmental impact, the EU has introduced the so-called plastic tax – a step that has far-reaching consequences for the plastics industry and raises many questions. Our FAQ offers you a detailed overview of the new tax regulation. Learn everything important about the objectives, effects, and critical voices from the industry regarding the plastic tax.
New EU packaging regulation: Voices from the industry
25.01.2024
The current Packaging Directive has not been able to reduce the negative environmental impact of packaging. The European Parliament has therefore voted on new rules for packaging in the EU. At the end of November, the Parliament clearly adopted the proposal.
Digital marketplace as a driver for the Circular Economy
10.01.2024
The forthcoming EU packaging regulation is casting its shadow: minimum quotas for recyclates are putting the plastics industry under pressure. Cirplus presents a digital platform that not only makes the recyclate market transparent, but also enables real-time coordination between the players.
"Considerably more fossil oil would be consumed without mass balance"
22.09.2023
"By utilising our technology, we can produce a pyrolysis oil from strongly mixed plastic waste that also contains polymers such as PVC, PET, ABS and many others. We process the plastic waste the way it arrives from a waste sorting plant or from partners in industry."
"Chemical recycling has the potential to close the existing gap in circular economy"
18.09.2023
"Chemical recycling is complementary to mechanical recycling and therefore of high priority for OMV – it is an important cornerstone of our Strategy 2030. It helps us to meet the growing demand for recycled polyolefins. Back in 2009 we developed a laboratory scale process that has since been patented."
"Chemical recycling is still in its infancy, but has huge potential"
16.08.2023
"At the moment an increasing number of large corporations are jumping on the chemical recycling bandwagon, all of them operating internationally. There is hope that they will contribute considerably towards the implementation of the necessary infrastructure in all parts of the world."
"There must not be a cannibalisation of material flows"
16.08.2023
"Unlike mechanical recycling, chemical recycling breaks down these compounds instead of utilising existing polymers as material."
"There is no one and only solution for recycling"
25.07.2023
The future of circular economy in the plastics industry is a complex mixture of mechanical and chemical recycling. Prof. Dr. Manfred Renner, Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology (UMSICHT), describes these technologies as indispensable components of the life cycle of plastics.
Together for Sustainability (TfS): "The name is the message"
07.07.2023
The German Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (wdk) has been committed to responsible procurement practices for raw materials and services in the rubber industry for many years. To advance the implementation of this goal, the wdk is now cooperating with Together for Sustainability (TfS), an international non-profit initiative.
A status check on the UN's plastic waste agreement
24.04.2023
Plastic pollution is a serious threat to human health and the environment. After years of awareness-raising, there is strong and widespread alignment on the need to act. This was the unmistakable and welcome message from the U.N.'s first negotiating session on a global agreement to end plastic waste in December.
Public obligations for recycling: Germany – a good role model?
16.08.2022
With the Packaging Act, Germany is taking a further step towards an all-encompassing raw material cycle for packaging. One of the requirements aims to significantly increase the amount of recyclable packaging. Packaging used in mail order or "dispensed" for to-go products has recently been required to be registered in the LUCID Packaging Register.
Plastic snowfall in the Alps
21.02.2022
To study how much plastic is trickling down on us from the atmosphere, Empa researcher Dominik Brunner, together with colleagues from Utrecht University and the Austrian Central Institute for Meteorology and Geophysics, have developed a chemical method that determines the contamination of the samples with a mass spectrometer.
New market data on the bioplastics market 2021
14.01.2022
The Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites presents the new edition of its brochure with the title "Biopolmers - Facts and statistics" to show how the bioplastics market is developing.