Circular Economy of Plastics

Dr. Peter Orth is a chemist by education; with OPC - Orth Plastics Consulting he leads a group of senior consultants with decades of professional experience in leading positions in the German and European plastics industry and their associations; the focus of his activities is on innovation and sustainability in cooperation with science, industry and politics. He is currently working in the fields of the circular economy of plastics and circular feedstock for plastics. Dr. Juergen Bruder is a chemist by education; he is acting as senior consultant for the plastics industry focussing on the transformation of the industry towards a circular economy mainly addressing plastics packing and plastics applications for sustainable farming. Dr. Ulrich Liman is a chemist by education and has decades of experience in R&D in the chemical and polymer industry for polyurethane and polycarbonate applications with living experience in Germany, the US, Japan and China. Manfred Rink is a mechanical engineer by education; he is acting as senior consultant for the plastics industry focussing on future trends in the industry and resulting chances and risks; he actually is investigating the impact of a circular economy on the industry.

• Introduction.- The material.- Feedstock.- The plastics ecosystem.- Mass streams.- Terminology.- Circular Economy of plastics.- A systematic approach.- Product - converters, brand owners, and OEMs.- Market - retailers, users, and consumers.- Wastes - collection, sorting, and recovery.- Raw material - chemical industry and plastics manufacturers.- Producer responsibility.- Non-recovered wastes and legacies.- Plastics wastes.- Biomass.- CO2.- Mass balancing.- Product carbon footprint.- Life cycle analysis.- Digitalisation.- Logistics.- Standardisation.- EU-regulation.- National regulation in Europe.- Associations, networks, and co-operations.- Studies.- Glossary.