EVENT REVIEW | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD EXHIBITION


Exhibitors showed product developments for


Above: Beier Machinery makes recycling lines and washing technology


possibly using Europe-wide certificates to verify the recyclability of the packaging. Levêque said she would like to see brand owners doing more to make packaging more recyclable, for example switching from “sparkly dark purple detergent bottles” which end up as rejects on a recycling line. Houlder responded that brand owners work over many years to establish colour schemes for brand advantages. “It is not something that you can turn a switch and it changes overnight. I would argue a lot of brand- owners are doing a lot more than is actually visible. They are putting a lot of money and effort into understanding these challenges, supporting projects such as CeFlex [the EU-wide project to improve recycling of flexible packaging].” There were two other panel discussions during the Plastics Recycling World Exhibition. The current status of ELV plastics recycling was analysed by Tony Evans, Business Manager at Albis Plastics UK, Jan Diemert, Deputy Director at Fraunhofer ICT’s Department for Polymer Engineering, and Veolia’s Van Scherpenzeel Group Managing Director Roger Beuting (see Automotive feature). The develop- ment of WEEE plastics recycling was the subject discussed by Jannick Sercu, Marketing Director at Galloo Plastics, Martin Schlummer who is Fraun- hofer IVV’s Business Field Manager Recycling and Environment, Keith Freegard from Axion Polymers, and CoolRec’s Manager Plastics Tessa Slagter.


plastics recycling, with some compounders having a stand in either the Plastics Recycling World Exhibition or the co-located Compounding World Expo. Compounder Poly-IQ presented new engineering polymer compounds based on 100% recyclate at its stand in the Plastics Recycling World Exhibition. The company has started producing recycled PC, ABS and PC/ABS compounds at its facility in Overath, Germany. Norbert Grünewald, Head of Business Sales and Technology, said that other compounders produce ETP materials with low recycled content, such as 10% or 20%, but Poly-IQ decided it would it would be better to make products with 100% content. The new products are a close match for equivalent ETPs based on virgin resin, he said, in terms of MFI and performance characteristics. On its stand, Poly-IQ showed parts such as a cell phone cover moulded in rPC, and an automotive lamp fitting moulded in rPC/ABS. In machinery, a number of China-based compa- nies had stands at the Essen exhibitions, showing their products alongside the many established European and US suppliers. One Chinese exhibitor that exports its equipment to Southeast Asia and North and South America was Beier Machinery. The single-screw and twin-screw extruder manufac- turer came to Plastics Recycling World Exhibition to expand its customer base in Europe and poten- tially in other countries, said Li Zhe, Vice Director for Export Sales. He said the China government’s ban on plastics waste imports means Europe provides a market opportunity or his company. Beier employs 360 people and has its manufac- turing base in Zhangjiagang, near Shanghai. It makes extrusion lines for PE, PP and PVC pipe and profiles, in addition to recycling extrusion and washing lines for PP, PE and PET fibres and bottles. Recycling equipment accounted for about 40% of the group’s $40m sales in 2017. At Plastics Recycling World Exhibition, Li Zhe highlighted Beier’s PET bottle washing line, which he said is the only China-built line with capacity up to 6,000 kg/h. The washing line range starts at 500 kg/h, and is also available in 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 and 4,500 kg/h versions. He said: “We like to grow up with our customers, so when they are bigger they can buy a bigger line.” AceRetech Machinery is a young company, having been set up in Zhangjiagang just three years


Left: AceRetech Machinery’s single-screw recycling extrusion line


24 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | July/August 2018 www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


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