Kęstutis Sadauskas, director circular economy and green growth dg environment at the European Commission will open the Plastics Recycling Show Europe (PRSE) conference at the RAI Amsterdam on 10 April.
In addition to the European official, representatives from major brands will be presenting at the conference, which will be held alongside the PRSE exhibition 10-11 April.
Ikea's head of resources and waste, sustainability group, Per Stoltz; HP Inc's director of product stewardship, John Ortiz and Philips International‘s senior director sustainability, Eelco Smit will be speaking at the event.
Other speakers include Gilonne Traub, senior research analyst, new plastics economy at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation; Gian De Belder, principal scientist - packaging R&D at Procter & Gamble and Leopold Thorsten, head of international packaging development home care at Henkel.
The conference opens with a session examining the latest developments and trends in the plastics recycling landscape in Europe. Speakers in this session will review the current state of affairs of the European plastics recycling industry, the legislative landscape and plastics recycling figures in Europe. There will also be updates on the European Union's Plastics Strategy.
Materials sessions will explore the challenges, issues and opportunities within the sector for mechanical and chemical recycling, with sessions covering PET, PVC and technical plastics.
In the PVC recycling session, Herman Huisman, senior advisor to the Dutch ministry of infrastructure and water management and European Commission senior expert Helmut Maurer will discuss instruments to divert from landfilling, such as landfill tax.
The second day of the conference will look at technology, innovation and recyclability of plastic products.
The topics will cover design for recycling and technological developments in collection, sorting, shredding, washing, extrusion and plastics conversion.
Day two will also cover a polyolefins material focus session which will examine the current status of polyolefin waste streams including high- and low-density polyethylene (LDPE and HDPE), as well as mixed plastics recycling (pots, tubs & trays).
The Plastics Recycling Awards Europe ceremony will take place during the show on 11 April in the conference theatre. A total of seven awards will be presented this year.
Over 110 companies and industry organisations will be exhibiting at the show, which has this year moved to the larger Hall 7 at the RAI Amsterdam to accommodate growing numbers of exhibitors and visitors.
The pan-European, free-to-attend exhibition and conference are designed specifically for plastics recycling professionals.