Extrusion International 2-2022

27 Extrusion International 2/2022 PLASTPOL 2022 „ Already 500 exhibitors have registered for this year’s 26th PLASTPOL. This year’s event promises to be really important for the whole business sector – not only the market players in Poland. For a quarter of a century, the PLASTPOL has been Central and Eastern Europe’s focal meeting point for business insid- ers, the dialogue platform for domestic and global compa- nies active the plastics processing sector. Last year’s Targi Kielce’s showhosted exhibitors frommany countries, includ- ing Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Portugal and Qatar. Every year aboundswithcompanies’ presentations of cutting-edge machinery and components, such as injection moulding ma- chines, extruders for plastics, granules and many more. www.targikielce.pl/en/plastpol Cooperation „ BASF has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with ZhejiangREEF Technology Co., Ltd. todevelop state-of-the-art recyclate formulations for applications used in the automo- tive, packaging and consumer industries. Under the agreement, BASF will provide its recently launched IrgaCycle™ additive solutions along with technical consultan- cy and support for recycled polymer formulations conducted at BASF’s test facilities. “Our goal is to help deliver higher quality, safer and more ef- fective products while supporting the plastic circular economy and helping reduce the use of virgin plastic material,” says Hermann Althoff, Senior Vice President, Performance Chemi- cals Asia Paci fi c. “In this way, we support our customers and partners to achieve their sustainability targets and create sus- tainable innovations together.” IrgaCycle™additive solutions help to increase the percentage of mechanically recycled content in several end-use applica- BASF Plastic Additives www.performancechemicals.basf.com tions such as packaging, automotive & mobility, and building and construction. These solutions address speci fi c quality is- sues associated with recycled resins, such as limited process- ability, poor long-term thermal stability and insuf fi cient pro- tection fromoutdoor weathering. The IrgaCycle range is offered as part of the VALERAS™ port- folio. In addition to enabling plastics circularity with IrgaCycle, VALERAS solutions bring signi fi cant sustainability value to plastic applications by improving durability, reducing waste, saving energy, reducing emissions, and promoting biodiver- sity. Zhejiang REEF Technology Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of Veolia Huafei Polymer Technology (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd., a joint ven- ture company of the French Veolia Group in China. It focuses on the R&D and production of high-end engineering plastic modi fi edmaterials. REEF’s coreproducts include recycledpoly- propylene, high density polyethylene, ABS, and polyamide. New Research Report „ A new report from Finland’s Technical Research Center (VTT), “Recycling Food Packaging”, highlights those technol- ogy solutions expected to become commercially available in the next fi ve years and says partnerships are essential to de- liver the necessary technological innovations in food packag- ing recycling. VTT’s team examined current and near-future recycling sys- tems for plastic and fi ber packaging and found that alliances between brand owners, recycling and sorting technology developers, and waste management companies are funda- mental to the development of recycling solutions. Such part- nerships are essential for future investment in new recycling technology as they provide, on one hand, accessibility to used material, and on the other hand, a potential user for the re- cyclate. Commissioned by Huhtamaki the global sustainable packaging solutions provider, the report aims to identify and increase understanding of the key drivers required to deliver a functioning circular economy, inwhich importantly packaging is not only recyclable, but recycled. Huhtamaki www.huhtamaki.com “The study predicts a signi fi cant increase in industrial chemical recycling capacity in the United States, Europe and East Asia in the next 3 to 4 years. Chemically recycled polymers can be included in food packaging after full depolymerization, whilst in practice today, recycled polymers certi fi ed as food contact material are mainly limited to rPET, used mostly in bottles”, says Mona Arnold, principal scientist at VTT. Huhtamaki has an ambitious 2030 sustainability agenda, in- cluding a commitment to design 100% of its products to be recyclable, compostable or reusable. The company also aims to have more than 80% of raw materials it uses to be either renewable or recycled. To deliver on these, Huhtamaki needs to ensure that the packaging materials, which provide access to safe, affordable foods and help prevent food waste, are re- cycled after use in ways that maximize their value to both the planet and people, and therefore help deliver a low carbon circular economy. The report is available for download at bit.ly/37NoQ2O.