EPRO searching for recycled plastics innovators

Europe – The European Association of Plastics Recycling and Recovery Organisations (EPRO) is calling on manufacturers of products made from recycled plastics to share their innovations at this year’s IdentiPlast conference to be held in the Italian capital Rome. Those who want a shot at winning the ‘Best Recycled Product Award 2015’ are invited to apply before March 11.

The winning product needs to: contain post-consumer/post-industrial recycled plastics; have been put on the market in 2011 or later; be either a business-to-business product or a product for the consumer market; and have been manufactured in Europe, Canada or South Africa. The winner will be announced at the IdentiPlast conference on April 29 where all finalists will have an opportunity to present their innovations.

According to EPRO′s co-chairman Massimo Paravidino, many factors such as advances in sorting technology and a greater range of reprocessing opportunities and applications now mean ′the need to send plastics to landfill is disappearing′. It is vital, he says, that consumers and industry recognise this trend and continue to sort and collect this material for recycling.

′One of the most important ways of doing this is to raise the awareness of the products made from recycled plastics, in turn showcasing a wide range of recycled products, thus creating a demand and maybe an appetite for new companies to start to design and manufacture more products made from recycled plastic – promoting the cycle of plastics,′ Paravidino adds.

It was in 2009 that EPRO initiated this annual competition, which has seen nearly 150 entries from 25 countries and witnessed an increased range of applications for recycled plastic.

For more information, visit: www.epro-plasticsrecycling.org