Page 17 from: Plastics Special 2020

PLASTICS SPECIAL

49recyclinginternational.com | November/December | 2020

Fotobijschrift

KaderKop
??

Opportunity rather
than uncertainty

COLUMN / Taking responsibility

as an industry is not only about

recycling materials. It entails an

holistic approach in which recy-

clers, producers, the packaging

industry and consumers work

together, insists BIR plastics

division chairman Henk Alssema

of Vita Plastics in the

Netherlands.

This year, the Covid-19 pandemic has
highlighted the fragility of the global
economy. Coronavirus has put the
most businesses around the world
under pressure and our sector has not
escaped its effects. However, corona-
virus is not the only reason the recy-
cling industry is struggling at the
moment. The export prohibition to
Asia, relatively low oil prices, uncer-
tainties regarding Brexit and protec-
tionist policies operated by many
countries all impact international
trade.
Although the future would appear to
be bleak, I believe that times of uncer-
tainty provide opportunities to change
existing structures. Not change for
change’s sake but simply because cur-
rent structures are no longer sustain-
able. In the recycling sector we realise
that there’s no future in recycling plas-
tics in a linear system and that is why
we are endeavouring to make the
transition to a circular economy. A
new economy where we close the
loops and cooperate with other play-
ers in the value chain. That presents
an enormous challenge: how can we
encourage a sector which is reason-
ably closed by nature to cooperate
with these other players? The answer
is straightforward: just do it. Seek links
with industry, product designers and
manufacturers of products and devel-
op new value chains together.
In 2016, we started making business
operations in our company Vita
Plastics more flexible with the princi-
ple: ‘we know all about plastic recy-
cling but we don’t need to have all
the disciplines in-house to become
part of a circular economy’. That was
our starting point and in the early
days we really needed to get used to
this new way of thinking. In the end, it
meant we were able to develop some
fantastic projects. For example, in
cooperation with a large waste man-

ager we developed a bio-bucket
made from the waste collected by
that same waste manager. Vita Plastics
ensured the waste was processed into
usable raw materials and then we
jointly invested in a mould to produce
the bucket. An injection moulder used
our mould and raw materials to make
the product. The resulting bio-buckets
were purchased by the waste manager
and issued to households in their col-
lection area to encourage the collec-
tion of organic waste. In this case, the
supplier of the waste also became the
purchaser of the end product.
This example shows that we, the recy-
cling industry, can play an important
role in the new economy. The bio-
bucket in itself is not innovative; the
innovation comes in the way the prod-
uct is created and produced. Everyone
who is involved in this value chain
uses their expertise to achieve the
intended result.
The example shows how our business
deals with the circular economy but it
is possible to come up with many
more initiatives. We have learned that
working together expands your hori-
zons.

I think we have to reinvent our indus-
try. We have to take responsibility. It is
not only about recycling materials; it is
about a common approach, in which
we work together as a waste sector, as
a recycling community, as producers,
packaging industry and consumers to
build new value chains. Chains that
are not only built on value to make
money, but also to have a positive
ecological footprint and a social per-
spective in creating fair trade jobs.
There are many opportunities but we
have to jump into action. Let’s make
sure the recycling sector will make the
difference in the new circular econo-
my. As we all know, recycling is the
backbone of the circular economy.

Henk Alssema.

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