Michael Brunn

EuPC regrets to read that the European Commission has put forward today the proposal for a Directive on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, that mainly targets so-called "single use plastics" and fishing gear, especially in the context of the recent Plastics Strategy Communication.

During EuPC's General Assembly in Milan, Renato Zelcher, CEO of Crocco, has been elected as the new EuPC President for the period 2018-2020, replacing Micheal Kundel.

And the fastest growth is likely to be seen in the Asia-Pacific region where generation of e-scrap is expected to surge from 3.6 kg per inhabitant in 2016 to 5 kg nine years later. These are among the findings of a new report commissioned by the BIR's E-Scrap Committee and published at the world recycling

PlasticsEurope supports the overarching objective of the "Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment" presented today by the European Commission, namely to reduce marine litter in our seas.

With the amount of harmful plastic litter in oceans and seas growing ever greater, the European Commission is proposing new EU-wide rules to target the 10 single-use plastic products most often found on Europe's beaches and seas, as well as lost and abandoned fishing gear.

At IFAT, Stahlwerke Bochum GmbH informed about the longer lifetime and optimised stress resistance of its CSNG shredder hammers.

World crude steel production for the 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) was 148.3 million tonnes (Mt) in April 2018, a 4.1% increase compared to April 2017.

Plastic recycling is failing to reach its full potential as low recovery rates of plastic waste, poor quality of recycled plastic and a lack of price incentives are holding back secondary plastic markets, according to a new OECD report. Given rising public concern over plastic pollution, governments should act urgently to encourage more and better recycling, it says.

Tougher new regulations and consumer concerns are reflected in enquiries received at IFAT, Tomra reports.

Persistence Market Research (PMR) in its upcoming report titled 'Recycled Plastic Market: Global Industry Analysis 2012 - 2016 and Forecast 2017 - 2025', projects the recycled plastic market to be worth just over US$ 30 billion by 2025.