Michael Brunn

With the report "Pathways to circular plastics in Europe: Good examples from countries, businesses and citizens", the European Topic Centre on Circular Economy and Resource Use (ETC CE) aims to show how the handling of plastics and plastic waste can be funda-mentally changed.

The European Commission is planning to amend the Packaging Ordinance. The associations of the PPK industry welcome the planned changes in principle. In a position paper, however, they make it clear which parts they want to see changed: all those that affect their industry.

The European targets for packaging recycling for 2025 and 2030 are ambitious. And due to the change in the calculation procedure, the odds are going down rather than up. The study "Mixed Waste Sorting to meet the EU's Circular Economy Objectives", which Eunomia prepared on behalf of Reloop and Zero Waste Europe, aims to show the potential of mixed waste to achieve the quotas.

In its position paper "Boosting steel scrap recycling in the EU. Debunking myths & setting a clear pathway to decarbonise steel through recycling", the industry associations Euric, BDSV, bvse and VDM emphasise the importance of steel recycling for climate targets and make clear what framework conditions need to be created.

Novelis and its partners at the research and development laboratory Net Zero Lab Valais, successfully completed the first year of operations, launching key energy projects aimed at enabling scope 1 and 2 carbon-neutral production at Novelis´ Sierre plant in Switzerland.

With its report "Increasing Recycling Rates with EPR Policy", The Recycling Partnership aims to show that Extended Producer Responsibility can successfully increase recycling rates for packaging. In addition, the expected significant effects of extended producer responsibility in the USA will be presented.

DenisReuter (TSR Recycling), Chairman of the BIR's Steel Committee, explains that the beginning of the fourth quarter of last year continued to be marked by China's strict zero interest rate policy and the global rate hike cycle of major central banks. The global steel industry was confronted with persistently weak demand and rising production costs. Steel mill buyers lowered scrap prices, keeping prices in Europe and Turkey under pressure at the start of the quarter.

The next generation of Cat 926, 930 and 938 Wheel Loaders offer a range of new technologies and features designed to boost productivity by simplifying machine operation.

Sorema has announced that a new recycling plant for post-consumer PET bottles has been installed in the Democratic Republic of Congo at OK Plast factory, in cooperation with Starlinger.

Installed plastic recycling capacity has grown by 17% in 2021 in EU27+3, boosted by an estimated €1.75 billion investment.