The new regulatory framework, European and Greek, the need for businesses to redesign processes and products and commit to a future where environmental priorities are balanced with the necessary development of the plastics industry, dominated the International Plastainability 2024 Conference, with the central theme “Transition in Progress”, recently held by the Association of Hellenic Plastics Industries (AHPI).
Speaking about a future where plastics will coexist with sustainability, the president of the Association, Vasilis Gounaris, said that “for years, plastics were synonymous with convenience. Today, we often see them as a problem. But this problem is also a challenge. And challenges are what make us better. The Greek plastics industry has already responded with actions: new technologies, product redesign and investments of millions of euros to transform waste into resources.”
With the main conclusion “We want the material back in production”, the conference participants focused on the key issues that concern the plastics market and consumers. As highlighted by Silvia Freni Sterrantino, Senior Legal & Regulatory Affairs Manager of EuPC, the collective body of the European plastics industry, the new regulation on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR) sets strict targets for recycled content and product labeling, requiring companies to adapt quickly to the new requirements to remain competitive in the European market.
For Diana Georgakopoulou, general director of the SEV Council for Sustainable Development, management is the great challenge for a material like plastic, with which the progress of our lives in the modern world is inextricably linked. “The transition towards more sustainable solutions is both necessary and feasible,” Georgakopoulou underlined, adding the importance of information and awareness programs, as well as the development of standards. She also explained that “the problem exists and requires coordinated actions by the State, which is responsible for the general framework, businesses that must take the necessary initiatives, and consumers who need to change their habits.”
