ALPLA Group

ALPLA laun­ches dia­logue about the bene­fits of plastic

Event in Berlin on 9 October with guests from the worlds of poli­tics, busi­ness and academia

Hard, 10 October 2024 – As a recy­clable mate­rial, pla­stic is a key resource for the sus­tainable cir­cular eco­nomy of the future. Pack­a­ging and recy­cling spe­cia­list ALPLA advo­cated for fact-based dis­course in a dia­logue with poli­ti­cians, busi­ness and aca­demia in Berlin on 9 October. With Design for Recy­cling and the acce­le­rated pro­ces­sing of post-consumer recy­cled mate­rial (PCR), the pla­s­tics pro­ces­sing industry can con­tri­bute to cli­mate protection. 

Pla­stic can pro­tect the cli­mate and pro­vide for the world. With its #das­kann­kunst­stoff (‘Pla­s­tic­Can­DoThis’) cam­paign, pack­a­ging and recy­cling spe­cia­list ALPLA is com­mitted to a fact-based view of the recy­clable mate­rial among the public. On 9 October, the com­pany invited guests from the worlds of poli­tics, busi­ness and aca­demia to Berlin for a dia­logue. They dis­cussed the goals, chal­lenges and solu­tions for the cir­cular eco­nomy of the future.

Cli­mate pro­tec­tion and pro­spe­rity depend on an effi­cient, cir­cular pla­s­tics eco­nomy. It requires inno­va­tive tech­no­lo­gies, indus­trial pio­neers, app­re­cia­tion of the mate­rial and awa­re­ness amongst people. We want to con­tri­bute at all levels,’ empha­sised host Georg Pescher, Mana­ging Director of ALPLA DE-BE-NL. Roughly 100 people accepted the invi­ta­tion to par­ti­ci­pate in the dia­logue at the Alte Münze venue in Berlin-Mitte. At it, the themes of ‘Recycle, Reduce, Reuse and Replace’ were made a spec­tacle, with sphe­rical struc­tures sym­bo­li­sing mole­cules and poly­mers as part of an infor­ma­tive exhibition.

Ideas for the cir­cular economy
Clea­ning pro­duct manu­fac­turer Werner & Mertz works with ALPLA to create sus­tainable pack­a­ging made from post-consumer recy­cled mate­rial. In his key­note speech, CEO Rein­hard Schneider empha­sised the importance of mecha­nical recy­cling for con­sumer con­fi­dence. Beha­vioural eco­no­mist Ger­hard Fehr illus­trated how the cir­cular eco­nomy can become tan­gible and gui­ding for as many people as possible.

Is Pla­stic Fantastic?’
How much can the cir­cular pla­s­tics eco­nomy con­tri­bute to cli­mate and envi­ron­mental pro­tec­tion, what needs to change in the industry and poli­tics; and what role does image play? ALPLA CEO Philipp Lehner dis­cussed this with Judith Sku­delny (FDP Bun­destag member), Hen­ning Wilts (Wup­pertal Insti­tute) and Volker Harb­ecke (Caro­linen Brunnen). ‘Pla­stic is the key chall­enge of our time. We cannot go on in a linear way like we do today; at the same time, we need pla­stic to sus­tain­ably reduce global resource con­sump­tion,’ explained Hen­ning Wilts, Head of the Cir­cular Eco­nomy Depart­ment at the Wup­pertal Insti­tute of Cli­mate, Envi­ron­ment and Energy.

ALPLA CEO Philipp Lehner empha­sised the respon­si­bi­lity held by the pla­s­tics pro­ces­sing industry and advo­cated for an unbi­ased view of the recy­clable mate­rial: ‘Pla­stic is an essen­tial part of the solu­tion – and unsur­passed in terms of safety, per­for­mance and sus­taina­bi­lity. As an industry, we need to act tog­e­ther and shift the focus to the bene­fits of pla­stic. Only by working tog­e­ther and in exch­ange with each other can we make the future sus­tainable. #das­kann­kunst­stoff is a call to action – for all of us.’

About the ALPLA Group
ALPLA is one of the world’s leading companies in the manufacture and recycling of plastic packaging. Around 23,300 employees worldwide produce custom-made packaging systems, bottles, caps and moulded parts at 196 sites across 47 countries. The high-quality packaging is used in a wide range of areas, including for food and drinks, cosmetics and care products, household cleaning products, detergents and cleaning agents, pharmaceutical products, engine oils and lubricants.

ALPLA operates recycling plants for PET and HDPE in Austria, Germany, Poland, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Romania and Thailand. Other projects are being realised elsewhere around the world.

www.alpla.com 

Enquiry infor­ma­tion for editorial
ALPLA, Erik Nielsen (Team Leader Cor­po­rate Com­mu­ni­ca­tions), +43 (0)5574 6021 701, erik.nielsen@alpla.com
Pzwei. Pres­se­ar­beit, Joshua Köb, +43 (0)5574 4471 522, joshua.koeb@pzwei.at