What’s on the horizon for PET recyclers in 2022 and beyond?

Petcore Europe has set a date for its annual conference, which will take place on 2-3 February. The two-day event will be held at DoubleTree by Hilton Brussels City.

‘Registration is already open. We are looking forward to meeting you in person after such a challenging period,’ Petcore Europe says. The organisation expects over 200 delegates to attend the conference. Important topics to be discussed include market trends for virgin and recycled plastics, new legislation, circular economy initiatives and the latest sorting trends.

What’s on the agenda?

Day 1: Wednesday, 2 February

11:15 – 12:30: Session 1 — Moderated by Christian Crepet, Executive Director, Petcore Europe

11:10 – 11:30: Petcore PET market State of Play 2020 – Andy Grant (Eunomia)

11:30 – 11:45: Covid Learning & end to end supply chain – Argiris Dabanlis (Petcore Europe)

11:45 – 12:00: 2021 Petcore PET Communication Campaign: Preparing 2022 – David Turier (Fleishman & Hillard)

12:00 – 12:15: Panel Debate – Q&A
12:15 – 13:30 Lunch

13:30 – 15:30: Session 2 — Moderated by Jim Armstrong, Recoup UK

13:30 – 13:45: PET Producers’ view: How virgin production industry is preparing for conversion to R PET – Antonello Ciotti (CPME)

13:45 – 14:00: PET converters’ view: Impact from disconnection from virgin – Filip de Botton (Logoplaste)

14:00 – 14:15: PET trays Converters’ view: Towards Circularity – Nicolas Lorentz (PACCOR)

14:15 – 14:30: PET recyclers’ view: How to cope with demand and long-term view with investment? – Casper van den Dungen (Plastics Recyclers Europe)

14:30 – 14:45: PET retailers’ view: Consumers habits versus plastic packaging – Zoom on Bottles 

14:45 – 15:00: Unesda: Which future for PET Bottle? – Antoon Spiessens(Coca-Cola)

15:00 – 15:15: Microplastics: a big step towards rationalising the debate through harmonisation & normalisation of analytical methods – Nizar Benismail (NMWE)

15:15 – 15:30: Panel Debate – Q&A
15:30 – 16:15: Networking Coffee Break

16:15 – 17:15: Session 3 – Regulation & Legislative Update

16:15 – 16:30: Circular Plastic Alliance: Monitoring standardization and state of play – Laure Baillargeon (EU Commission)

16:30 – 16:45: Single Use Plastic Directive by DG environment – Mattia Pellegrini (EU Commission)

16:45 – 17:00: Deposit for better collection and better PET sorting Scheme – Maria Spyraki (EU Parliament)

17:00 – 17:15: Panel Debate – Q&A
19:00: Networking Dinner

Day 2: Thursday, 3 February 2022

9:45 – 10:05: PET Depolymerisation and Food contact – Stephen Short (Petcore Europe)

10:05 – 10:25: PET Depolymerisation Technology Status – Martin Stephan (Carbios)

10:25 – 10:45: Labels: Turning labels circular – Sofiane Mameri (Sleever)

10:45 – 11:05: Going beyond recycling – why PET reuse solutions matter – Sebastian Lemp (Alpla)

11:05 – 11:20: Comparative LCA Analysis – Argiris Dabanlis (Petcore Europe) & Klaas Geneyn (McBride)

11:20-11:45: Networking Coffee

11:45 – 12:00 PET Trays: Evaluation working group update, design guidelines and last technical development – Ana Fernandez (Klöckner Pentaplast)

12:00 – 12:15: Trays to trays recycling: a new implementation from collection to rPET manufacture – Hélène Legrand (Valorplast) & François Lagrue (Wellman)

12:15 – 12:30: Feedback on white containers circularity in France – Vincent Colard (CITEO)

12:30 – 12:45: EPBP: Building a solid Governance System for closed loop PET recycling in Europe together – Bruno Van Gompel (UNESDA)

12:45 – 13:00: Recyclass – Fabrizio Di Gregorio (Plastics Recyclers Europe)

13:00 – 13:15: Panel Debate - Q&A 
13:15 -14:30: Networking Lunch

14:30-16:00: Session 5 – Trends in Sorting and Collection
14:30-14:45: Digital Watermarks: 2022 Final Stretch? – Larry Logan (Digimarc)
15:00-15:15: Deposit return system: State of play the best solution! – Clarissa Morawski (Reloop)
15:15-15:30: Digital Deposit Return System: How does it work? – Eric Randall(Bryson Recycling)
15:30 -15:45: The SamurAI and the impact of AI in the design of Material Recycling Facility – Ian Smith (Machinex)

15:45 -16:00: Panel Debate – Q&A
16:00: Wrap-up and closing