Extrusion International USA 4-2020

35 Extrusion International 4/2020 increase production and distribution of ‘masks, face shields, surgical gowns, isolation gowns, goggles, disposable caps, disposable shoe covers, and disposable gloves,’” Radoszews- ki told the House Oversight and Government Reform Com- mittee’s Subcommittee on the Environment. The only witness invited to highlight the importance of plas- tics in healthcare, Radoszewski expressed his appreciation to Ranking Member Fred Keller (R-PA) for giving him the oppor- tunity describe the plastic industry’s effort to meet unprece- dented demand for personal protection equipment (PPE), as well as components for ventilators and other medical devices. As COVID-19 began to spread, the federal government and states designated plastics companies and their employees as essential businesses and workers. Congressman Keller noted, “As the COVID-19 pandemic be- gan to spread in the United States, one thing became abun- dantly clear, the frontline workers of America would need access to personal protective equipment at a rate never seen before. The plastics industry kicked their production of these life-saving products into high gear.” “Plastic is one of the most advanced and useful materials hu- manity ever created, contributing to longer, healthier lives for people across the globe. Without it, disease and hunger would be more common, not less,” said Radoszewski, under- scoring the conflict between environmental groups seeking to ban hygienic single-use items and public health officials recommending them to help Americans protect themselves. An Associated Press report recently warned the PPE supply in the U.S. “is running low again as the virus resumes its rapid spread and the number of hospitalized patients climbs,” put- ting frontline healthcare workers at greater risk, according to National Nurses United. Addressing environmental concerns, Radoszewski ex- plained: “All materials require energy and other resources in their manufacture, and all produce waste. However, over its entire lifecycle in most applications, plastic requires less en- ergy and conserves more resources than glass, paper or alu- minum, saving fuel, energy and money, especially for busy working families.” He added that jobs and economic growth are also health issues. “I’m proud to represent nearly one-million plastic employees in the United States. Our industry contributes hundreds of billions of dollars of economic value and good tax-paying jobs,” he said. PLASTICS supports the RECOVER Act, which would modern- ize U.S. recycling infrastructure for the 21st Century, pre- venting plastics from entering the environment and provid- ing plastics companies with recycled materials to create new products. Tony Radoszewski, Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) President & CEO The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) plasticsindustry.org Plastics Recyclers Cease Production European Plastics recycling industry is closing production due to the current market developments caused by the CO- VID-19 pandemic. The major problems are the lack of the de- mand due to the closure of converting plants and the record low prices of virgin plastics as well as the decreased activity globally. Ton Emans, PRE president commented: „If the situation is to persist and no actions are taken to remedy the sector, plas- tics recycling will cease to be profitable, hampering the at- tainment of the EU recycling targets and putting in jeopardy the transition towards circular plastics“. In such a case, recy- clable plastic waste will have no alternatives but to be sent to landfill or incineration. Damage to the recycling market would, in addition to the grave environmental consequences, have far reaching socio- Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) www.plasticsrecyclers.eu economic impacts due to the extensive employment in the waste management value chain. Plastics recycling industry calls on the EU and the Member States to include recycling as one of the sectors supported by their Recovery Plans and to continue implementing the mea- sures under the Circular Economy umbrella. Safeguarding the positive developments within this mar- ket is essential to reduce Europe’s use of virgin plastics and, therefore, for the survival of the secondary raw materials market as well as further investments in the sector.