News 2013

A new association is born in Brussels to support exchange of resources between industries, a practice referred to as Industrial Symbiosis.

Top executives from plastics resin producers gathered during the 2013 K Fair, the world largest plastics industry exhibition, in October 2013 and agreed upon establishing a new World Plastics Council.

Bio-degradable plastics were originally developed in order to solve specific waste issues related either to agricultural films or collection and separation of food waste.

At K 2013, the world’s biggest trade fair for the plastics industry, PlasticsEurope will present its annual publication Plastics – the Facts 2013.

PlasticsEurope organised Young. Skilled. Unemployed. a high-level stakeholder meeting on youth employment, inviting EU policy and decision makers, industry leaders and students from across Europe to a half day debate held at the European Parliament in Brussels.

Admission to the elite group of high performance polymers...and to win over high-tech sectors like aerospace, transportation and defence...is fiercely competitive but conventional plastics have not had their final say and are facing-off with the category's new top-rankers.

Lightweight, weatherproof and strong, everyone will be packing plastics for the great summer getaway. Without plastics, you can forget about water sports, picnics or hiking!

François Galgani, an oceanographer at IFREMER and head of the European group responsible for implementation of the European Directive on marine litter, gives his insights on this controversial issue.

What is sustainable energy? Is it energy that doesn’t give off CO2? Energy from a non-finite, readily available source? Well, a bit of both actually! Basically, it’s about tapping and converting into, usually electric, power the free energy from the sun, wind, water currents, or subterranean heat.

An Italian research team, from the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa, has shown that a photovoltaic polymer can restore light-sensing capabilities to damaged retinas, offering hope of a simple way to restore vision to many people with degenerative eye diseases.

The collective imagination often portrays islands as sun-drenched corners of paradise with white-sandy beaches lined with coconut trees, and whose inconvenient sides are quickly glossed over. The lack of safe drinking water is one such downside.

Altuglas International created car's body from nanostructured Altuglas® ShieldUp plates. The acrylic glass combines two components: PMMA and an elastomer structured at the nanometric scale.

For the second time, PlasticsEurope has been the overall sponsor of The Parliament Magazine’s MEP Awards, which, in its ninth edition, recognises Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) for their outstanding efforts and achievements in their respective policy areas. During the ceremony, held on 25 June in Brussels, 18 MEPs were awarded for their work.

Piccard draws parallels between the medical practice and sustainability and suggests thinking about solutions and new products and materials that are important for the industry to make profits and create new jobs.

The plastics industry recognizes the need to get better at listening to the concerns of the different stakeholders, so as to increase the credibility of an industry ...

18 years after wrapping up the Berlin Reichstag and 14 years after The Wall installation in Oberhausen to close the Emscher Park International Building Exhibition (IBA), Christo is back in Germany with an outstanding new art project.

Farmers seem to have found the magic formula to boost yields using fewer pesticides and less water. In two words: agricultural plastics.

The Solar Impulse team has set itself a final mission before attempting its around-the-world flight in 2015 - crossing the USA from West to East, without using a drop of fuel.

RECY-PLAST platform is aimed at regular discussion to exchange experiences on current situation of the plastics recycling and recovery sector and also to trace the future development of this industry in the coming years.

BIOCLEAN, a research project contributing to finding solutions into degrading plastic litter on land and in the marine environment, has launched its new website, which provides detailed information on the research project.

This concept cycle park is made entirely from PET plastic and ordinary aluminium cans. The product of recycling, it is itself recyclable, can quickly be put into industrial-scale manufacture and promotes environmentally-friendly transport.

A paper-thin tablet that will bend without breaking has been developed by researchers at Canada’s Queen's University in collaboration with Plastic Logic and Intel Labs.

Aerogel is a nanostructure material that is 99.8% air, making it the lightest solid in the world. Its big value is the exceptional insulation it delivers.

Plastics make up a bare one percent of the volume of construction materials. Yet this little touch of polymers in a mineral, steel and glass world can have an unexpected impact on the overall performance of structure and building design.

The city of Vancouver, in Canada, has just announced that it uses recycled plastics in the asphalt used to pave and repair its roads. The recycled plastic, which currently accounts for 1% of this hybrid asphalt mix, comes from recycled water bottles and yoghurt pots, among others. It acts as an additive, replacing traditional vegetable-based waxes.

Kayaking is a sport and a hobby enjoyed the world over. Unfortunately, transporting and storing the equipment can very quickly turn it into a logistical nightmare! Kate Lydon and her husband, Californian designer Anton Willis, keen kayakers themselves, came up with an amazing idea: the origami kayak. The Oru Kayak weighs in at 11.3 kilos and comes in an ultra compact bag measuring 84cm x 74cm x 25cm which can be carried over the shoulder.

A new artificial lens based on nano-scale, micro-layered plastic film is described as being nearly identical to the natural lens of the human eye.

Plastic polymers enable development of a silent, flicker-free, shatterproof, long-lasting alternative for large-scale lighting ready for launch this year.