Petcore Europe sees strong growth welcoming 15 members in 2018

Members include: PET resin manufacturers, packaging designers and manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, label producers, brand owners, EPR schemes, waste management organisations, recyclers, and recycling machines manufacturers. 

Circular Economy

Christian Crépet, executive director, Petcore Europe, said members work together to make PET circular and the entire industry stronger and its latest members were already active in its working groups to tackle recycling issues. 

Benefits include being able to inform the European Institutions and other regulatory bodies on every aspect of the PET value chain, which may be critical when it comes to developing new legislation, or reviewing existing ones. 

"It is great to see how our value chain association has been evolving over the past years and months,” ​he said. ​

“The several new brand owners, packaging and label producers, waste management organisations as well as other highly important players involved in the PET industry give Petcore Europe an even more important voice in Europe."​

Working groups include: ​Recycling PET Thermoforms; Recycling of Opaque and Difficult to Recycle PETpackaging (ODR); Plastic Aerosol Recycling Special Industry Group and the PET Industry NIAS Group (PING).

4PETRecycling

The organisation recently saw 4PETRecycling open a ​recycling line for PET trays in Duiven, the Netherlands, one of the first of its kind in the world and four industry-wide pledges from the European Federation of Bottled Waters (EFBW) to increase the collection of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles and the use of recycled PET.  

The level of collection of PET drink bottles varies substantially across the EU. Some Member States collect more than 90% of PET bottles while others collect less than 20%. 

EFBW anounced the following targets for 2025:

• Collect 90% of all PET bottles by 2025, as an EU average.
• Collaborate with the recycling industry to use at least 25% recycled PET (rPET) in its water bottles by 2025, as an EU average. 
• Innovate and invest further in eco-design and research on non-fossil based plastic materials. The bottled water industry has always had sustainability at its heart, and is continuously investing in packaging R&D.
• Engage with consumers who play a key role in preventing littering. 

 “We are committed to achieving these industry-wide actions,” ​saidJean-Pierre Deffis, president, EFBW. 

“PET drink bottles already achieve the highest recycling rate of any plastic packaging material in the EU. But even one bottle ending up as litter is one too many​.” 

“It will take a concerted, coordinated effort from many different value-chain actors to drive positive change.​” 

 The next event for the association is the Petcore Europe Conference 2019 "EU Plastics Strategy 2.0 - Taking the PET industry to the next step"​ in Brussels, (February 6- 7, 2019). 

The first day of the conference will look at the perspectives and strategy of the PET value chain followed by a networking drink and dinner. 

The second day focuses on the latest developments in the EU legislation, challenges, trends and collection, sorting & recycling as well as circularity & sustainability issues.