Extrusion Asia Edition 2-2019

“对于整个社会而言，塑料废料是一个问题” Circular Economy – Interview: “Plastic waste is a problem for society as a whole” 32 循环经济-访谈 Extrusion Asia Edition 2/2019 Why is a circular economy important for plastics? Reifenhäuser : The topic of plastic waste has become increas- ingly important because the amount of litter is growing. This is due to an expanding global population and rising prosperity in many emerging economies. The mountains of waste are piling up, especially in Asia. We also have problems with this in Europe. In Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland the rate of recycling is truly excellent, but in Medi- terranean countries, on the other hand, it’s rather poor. It is clear, therefore, that the world of plastics needs to change. Dis- cussions are currently underway, but this is not yet noticeable in the waste sector. Why is that? Reifenhäuser : This is a very complex and multi-layered pro- blem. It's paradoxical. Plastics are an ideal material for many applications. They are light, easy to process, relatively inexpen- sive and available in sufficient quantities. Because of these benefits, their importance to competing ma- terials is constantly increasing. This is positive. However, plastics are not usually dealt with correctly after use. Instead of being collected, they’re thrown away. This is negative, and the real major issue at hand. How can you change the behaviour of entire nations of consumers? Reifenhäuser : By educating and appealing to the responsibili- ty of consumers. Legislation is also a good way to do this. It’s extremely important to attach value to plastic waste. This is something that needs to be approached from a political per- spective. The best strategy here is to set recycling quotas for new plastics products. If quotas are in place, plastics processors will suddenly need recycled material. This will open up a new market. It may well be that high-quality recycled material costs twice as much as brand-new goods, but doubling the price won’t make a difference when it comes to plastics products as their properties are far superior to those of other materials such as glass, metal or paper. But end consumers are watching out for every last cent. Reifenhäuser : That's true, but that wouldn’t be a problem anymore if laws were in place to stipulate that all plastics pro- ducts need to comprise 30 percent recycled material. The pre- 塑料废料的数量在全球范围内不断增长。 为 了可持续地利用资源，必须赋予废料一种价值， 它应该被回收而不是被处理掉，然而世界上许多 国家的情况仍然如此。Ulrich Reifenhäuser确信， 需要全面改变社会意识。最终消费者需要了解和 接受教育。与此同时，必须提供适当的政治框 架。机械工程支持资源节约型生产和回收技术， 但品牌所有者在促进接受再生材料制成的产品方 面也发挥着关键作用。 The amount of plastic waste is growing steadily worldwide. In order to use resources sustainably, waste has to be given a value, it ought to be re- cycled and not disposed of, as is still the case in many countries around the world. Ulrich Reifen- häuser is convinced that there is a need for a comprehensive change of awareness in society. The end consumers need to be educated and in- formed. At the same time, an appropriate politi- cal framework has to be provided. Mechanical engineering supports resource-efficient produc- tion and recycling technologies, but brand owners also play a key role in promoting the acceptance of products made from recycled materials. 采访莱芬豪舍集团首席销售官Ulrich Reifenhäuser先生 Interview with Ulrich Reifenhäuser, CSO of the Reifenhäuser Group