Extrusion International 4-2019

26 Extrusion International 4/2019 CIRCULAR ECONOMY – INTERVIEW Thorsten Kühmann is convinced that the plastics industry can offer solutions that help to eliminate the environmental problems caused by plastic waste. The guiding principle is circular economy. The global challenges for circular economy in the plastics industry are economic efficiency, political and regulatory constraints, quality standards and availability of recyclates and especially the establishment of functioning waste collection systems worldwide. VDMAwill shine the spotlight on circular economy at the leading K 2019 trade fair in Düsseldorf in October and show how closed loops can work effectively “Closed loops can solve the littering problem” Interview with Thorsten K ¾ hmann, Managing Director of VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery trade association of VDMA Why is VDMA putting the spotlight on circular economy in its presentation at K 2019? Thorsten Kühmann: We are doing this because we have re- alised that we’re facing an image problem when it comes to plastics. Nowadays, plastics usually only attract public at- tention when causing problems, polluting the environment or being suspected of endangering our health. Images and reports of how plastic waste is littering our oceans and the countryside are ever-present. These are serious problems indeed, and the industry needs to offer solutions. We want to use K 2019 as an opportunity to show what needs to be done to avoid these waste problems and the resulting dam- age. We will demonstrate that closed loops are a possible solution. What can visitors see at K 2019? Kühmann: We’re pursuing two goals. At our exhibition pavil- ion, we will firstly present the entire cycle of circular economy in the plastics industry, from production via the use phase of plastics products to collecting, sorting, recycling and the sub- sequent return to production. Our second goal is tomake our visitors experience circular economy. To achieve this, we will be working with partners from the entire plastics value chain at the trade fair, including raw material suppliers, processors and recyclers, and will demonstrate how a closed loop works. At K 2019, it should become clear that the plastics industry is taking care of the waste problem and that it already has pro- posals for effective solutions. What are the biggest challenges in the practical implementa- tion of circular economy? Kühmann: There are several challenges. It’s extremely impor- tant to bear in mind that cycles can only function well if they are profitable. Many plastics processors currently use virgin material rather than recycled material, simply because it’s cheaper. At the end of the day, the consumer usually goes for the cheaper product in the supermarket. Those who use re- cycled materials would lose out because their products would be more expensive and thus left on the shelves. In order to increase the use of recycled materials, fixed quotas are need- ed so that everyone has the same starting conditions. The EU Plastics Directive also provides for quotas like this. Companies therefore need a new business model. The other challenge is to create reliable quality standards for recycled materials. These don’t currently exist which means that those who use recyclates never really know exactly what quality they are getting. This makes the processes less secure: If material quality fluctuates, production cannot be controlled as reliably as with standardised newmaterials. Recycledmate- rialswouldbemucheasier toaccept if theywere standardised. And finally, there is a problem with quantity. Those who are currently prepared to use recyclates, do not know whether they will actually be able to obtain the quantities they require over a longer period of a few years. Is everything that is needed for the circular economy feasible from a technological perspective? Kühmann: There are still matters that need to be clarified. But there are already technological solutions for standard pro- cesses such as sorting, shredding and recycling. There will cer- tainly be improvements in that regard. Technology is not the main problem in the plastics recycling industry.