| Stadler has opened its new global headquarters in Germany last Friday (18 October) at a key-handover ceremony.

| During a meeting held in Düsseldorf at the K trade show, the three Presidents of the European plastics industry associations, Renato Zelcher (European Plastics Converters), Javier Constante (PlasticsEurope) and Ton Emans (Plastic Recyclers Europe), agreed to oppose the Italian Government’s tax proposal of 1000 € per ton of plastic packaging.

| Borealis announces that it will become a Core Partner of the New Plastics Economy, an important global initiative led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The New Plastics Economy unites a broad range of key stakeholders to bring about a circular economy for plastics, in which plastic never becomes waste or pollution.

| The plastics or polymers industry was for many years a hidden industry. For most of its history, nobody has known much about the plastics business because it is sandwiched between oil and gas and a huge variety of finished goods. The meat cannot be seen because of the high visibility of the bread around the sandwich. A guest contribution by John Richardson, Senior Consultant Asia, ICIS.

| Neste and Remondis have signed an agreement to collaborate in the development of chemical recycling of plastic waste.

| At K 2019 the next generation of Lindner’s Micromat has been presented along with an additional model and a new and improved universal cutting system.

| Coexpan presents CorePET, the new 100% rPET tray for different applications, decontaminated for food contact use.

| The new inhouse recycling system Intarema ZeroWastePro, which Erema presented for the first time at K 2019, is specially designed for PE and PP film production waste processed in inline or offline.

| Re-Gen Waste, has invested £5m in the development of its existing processing facility, to produce a high specification replacement for traditional fossil fuels, for use in cement kilns and power stations.

| Erema is convinced that digitalisation in plastics recycling is an important pacemaker on the way to implementing a circular economy.

| Heading up his first meeting as Chairman of BIR’s Tyres & Rubber Committee, Max Craipeau of China-based Greencore Resources Ltd confirmed that he wanted to use his new position to promote closer co-operation between the industry in the West and that in Asia “where very innovative solutions to recycle tyres and rubber scrap are also being used and developed”.

| “We need to convey the message that recycling is resource-efficient and climate-efficient,” insisted Emmanuel Katrakis, Secretary General of the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation, in his presentation to the BIR International Environment Council (IEC) meeting in Budapest on October 14.

| According to Erema, the new Vacunite technology offers efficient decontamination, best colour values, top IV stability and low energy consumption.

| Challenges and innovation in WEEE recycling within Europe formed the core of a guest presentation to the BIR E-Scrap Committee meeting in Budapest on October 14.

| “The alarm bells are ringing louder and louder” for plastics recyclers amid worrying economic developments and wider uncertainties, warned BIR Plastics Committee Chairman Henk Alssema of Netherlands-based Vita Plastics in his introductory remarks to the body’s latest meeting in Budapest on October 14.