EuPC ready to launch plastics circularity conference amid Single Market fragmentation concerns

18 May 2022 --- European Plastics Converters (EuPC) is gearing up to launch its annual meeting tomorrow with the theme “A Circular Future with Plastics.” It occurs less than a year before the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the European Single Market, which plastics industry players have long warned is under threat from current regulations.

Aude Bourgeois, junior account communication executive for the EuPC, tells PackagingInsights: “The two-day event aims to show the industry’s willingness to continue the value chain efforts on circularity to demonstrate to the public authorities the benefits of plastics products to society.”

“High-level speakers will present and explain their vision strategy toward a more circular future and [environmental] sustainability during the panel discussion.”

“This is a long-awaited event often seen by the participants as the ‘main event for the European plastics converting industry,’” she says.

Environmental focus
During the main conference on the second day, moderated by the journalist Melinda Crane (a chief political correspondent for Deutsche Welle TV), representatives of national and European politics, CEOs of the plastics manufacturing and converting world, and other industry leaders, will share their knowledge and experience about plastic industry circularity trends, Bourgeois says.

The EuPC event will bring more than 40 speakers and 160 attendees together to discuss the circular plastics economy.This year, the conference has been organized with two Belgian associations: Agoria and Essenscia-PolyMatters. More than 40 speakers will present on various subjects and over 160 attendees are registered.

“The [environmental] sustainability and circularity of plastics and plastic products continue to be the most important topics for our industry. Companies need to work hard to keep up with the fast development of legislation and consumer behavior,” remarks EuPC managing director Alexandre Dangis.

“Family-owned businesses and CEOs of larger plastics converting companies should not miss this strategic event.”

The annual two-day conference had to be postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe but can now finally be staged again. The meetings will take place close to the European Parliament.

Protecting the Single Market
Recently, the EuPC issued a warning that the Single Market is under threat of fragmentation, which could lead to the breakdown of the EU Green Deal. In a letter sent to the European Parliament and signed by 58 other associations, the EuPC states that: “Preserving the integrity of the Single Market is key to ensuring that packaging materials and packaged goods can move freely around the EU, thus avoiding negative impacts on consumers, companies, the environment and on the resilience of essential systems, such as the food and pharmaceutical sectors.”

Achieving circularity for packaging materials requires that legislation remain unified throughout the Single Market, argues the letter. The letter comes months after the EuPC accused some nations of diminishing the market by failing to implement the stipulations of the EU Single Use Plastics Directive.

By Louis Gore-Langton

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