Source:pagcev.org

Turkish Recycling Facility Introduced in Athens

The PlasticsEurope Mediterranean Regional Advisory Board meeting, of which PAGEV is also a member, took place in Athens on October 11, 2018. The main agenda item of the meeting was the draft regulation prepared by the EU on single-use plastics. To briefly summarize a topic we covered extensively in the previous issue of our magazine: the European Commission submitted a draft regulation to the European Parliament proposing a ban on single-use plastic products such as cotton swabs, forks, spoons, plates, straws, and balloon sticks, aiming to prevent plastic pollution in the seas. If the draft regulation is adopted, a two-year transition period will follow, after which these products will be banned. Accordingly, the meeting began with an update from PlasticsEurope, outlining the strategies that the sector should adopt regarding this important issue.

Following a brief presentation by the PlasticsEurope Waste Management Platform, in which PAGÇEV participates, on plastic recycling efforts in Mediterranean countries, Yavuz Eroğlu, President of PAGÇEV and Chairman of SEM Plastik, gave a presentation titled “A Recycling Experience”. He introduced Çevrepet, Europe’s largest recycling facility, located in Afyonkarahisar with an annual production capacity of 120,000 tons on an area of 110,000 m².

In the second part of the meeting, Gaetano Leone, Director of the UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan Barcelona Convention Secretariat, gave a presentation on “Marine Litter in the Mediterranean: UNEP’s Actions and Programs.” The meeting concluded with information on “Operation Clean Sweep,” supported by PAGEV, which aims to prevent plastic pellet loss in the industry.