The European associations Petcore Europe, PlasticsEurope, Plastics Recyclers Europe and VinylPlus have agreed to join forces to create the PolyREC organization. This new entity will monitor, verify and report on recycling data and use of recycled plastics in Europe. This milestone will be achieved through the use of a common data collection system called RecoTrace. Thus, PolyREC will guarantee traceability, transparency and trust in recycled materials throughout the plastics value chain.
PolyREC will use the 20 years of experience and expertise that VinylPlus has that has enabled it to become the industry standard for collecting safe and reliable recycling data, through its data collection entity, Recovinyl. The general director of VinylPlus, Brigitte Dero, has indicated that: “the circularity of plastics is a key opportunity to improve the sustainability of their products. The European PVC industry, through VinylPlus, has learned the importance of monitoring and reporting on progress. Therefore, we are pleased to share this experience of many years and work in collaboration with all sectors of the plastics industry to increase the traceability and transparency of recycled plastics throughout the entire value chain ”.
PolyREC comes at a time when monitoring the circularity of polymers is paramount, especially in the context of the Circular Plastics Alliance (CPA). This system will be able to meet CPA targets, legislative traceability demands, and industry-wide plastic recycling commitments. The president of PRE, Ton Emans, explained that: “if we want to meet the objectives of the EU, it is essential to establish mechanisms that transparently demonstrate progress in the circularity of plastics.”
Emans added that: “Today’s announcement of the plastics value chain that includes recyclers, producers of raw materials and processors is a significant step towards a systemic and reliable approach to truly improve production, collection and recycling. of plastic. This mutual approach to data collection is essential for the industry to measure its progress using the same criteria. “
Petcore Europe Managing Director Christian Crépet announced that: “As Petcore Europe has been a pioneer in monitoring PET recycling in Europe since the 1990s, its participation in a joint monitoring plan for recycled plastics to the EU is both timely and logical. “
Finally, Virginia Janssens, CEO of PlasticsEurope added that: “We are very pleased to join forces with key partners in the plastics value chain to establish this unique polymer monitoring system, while benefiting in the long run and proven track record of the Recovinyl system. Leveraging our experience in providing key data from the European plastics industry, we see this as a key milestone in our journey towards circular plastics. “
