Plastics Recycling Show Middle East and Africa kicks off in Dubai

The doors of the Dubai World Trade Centre have officially opened to host the second edition of Plastics Recycling Show Middle East and Africa (PRS ME&A).

This year the show has moved to Sheikh Saeed Hall 2 to accommodate more than 100 exhibitors, including Erema, Bariq, Tomra Recycling, Astra Polymers, Lindner, and Rebound, amongst many others.

Ton Emans, President at Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE), keynoted the three-day conference, delivering a call for worldwide cooperation in the mission to make plastics circular and sustainable.

“Plastics waste is a resource waiting to be reborn,” Emans said. “This event is an opportunity to unite the industry around sustainability.”

Justin Wood, vice president and head of Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), at the Alliance to End Plastic Waste; Jerome Viricel, general manager of Recapp at Veolia Middle East; and Oliver Bonstein, general manager at the South African Plastics Recycling Organisation, joined Emans to discuss what it takes to achieve that vision.

In a discussion moderated by Sustainable Plastics editor Karen Laird, participants agreed on two points: the economics of plastics recycling is still too poor to compete with virgin production and legislation is key to solving that problem.

Wood argued that whilst different parts of the world face particular recycling challenges – Africa struggles with collection, whereas the Middle East needs to improve sorting – the underlying problem is the same everywhere.

“The underlying issue everywhere is the economics of recycling. We need to have some sort of economic device to facilitate recycling – at present it is too easy to just use virgin material,” Wood said.

Emans argued for a ‘carrot’ approach instead of a ‘stick’ strategy focusing on imposing plastic taxes rather than offering incentives to recyclers.

“Without legislation we would never be as successful in Europe as we are now,” Emans said. “The legislation is the only friend of the recycler.”

Whilst the EU has in many ways followed a ‘stick’ strategy – promising penalties in case of failure to comply with recycled content targets – many countries in the Middle East are offering incentives for recycling at the consumer level.

In the UAE, for example, Veolia has been operating Recapp, an app-based recycling solution for individuals and businesses operating in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, since 2020. The door-to-door service collects post-consumer plastic and metal packaging for free from homes and for a fee from businesses. Users can schedule pick-ups on the app and are rewarded with points based on the weight of the collected recyclables. Those points can be redeemed as vouchers for use in shops and supermarkets like Carrefour.

The project has been important in raising public awareness about the importance of recycling, Viricel said. However, increase in awareness does not guarantee increased demand for recycled materials.

There is a ‘say-do’ gap in consumers’ intentions, said Wood. They may say more products should use recycled plastics and that they are willing to pay more for it, but data shows that they often end up grabbing the cheaper, virgin product at the supermarket.

Showing people there is value in recycling is part of what it takes to get them to do the right thing, Bonstein argued. In South Africa, recycling is very low on the priorities of low-income consumers, who make up a large portion of the population.

“You need to show those households that there is value to be had,” Bonstein said.

Investors, in turn, need stability – volatile markets don’t make attractive investment opportunities. Legislation at a global level – like that under discussion at the Global Plastics Treaty – will be key to improve the economics of plastics recycling, the panellists concluded.

Source: sustainableplastics.com