Round Table Discussion Held on Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF)

A ‘round table’ on SRF was organised by the Finnish Plastics Industries Federation (FIPIF), the Association of Environmental Enterprises in Finland, and PlasticsEurope, representing the plastics manufacturers in Europe, to help stimulate further dialogue and clarity as the Waste Framework Directive revision reaches a critical stage of its development.

Around 30 participants attended at the event on the 17th November 2006, representing several EU countries, from a range of backgrounds – plastics manufacturers and converters, waste management companies, SRF producers and users, forestry and energy industries, the environmental services sector, recovered fuel trade groups, national government authorities, and politicians.

The event was hosted and chaired by Kari Teppola, Managing Director of FIPIF.

Mr Teppola commented “plastics waste is too valuable a resource to be wasted in landfill. A mix of recovery options, including recycling and energy recovery, is needed to reach the overall goal of diversion from landfill.

SRF produced from waste is one of the possible recovery options for plastics waste and can provide a significant contribution to substitution of resources in the wider economy. The use of SRF in controlled industrial plants creates an environmentally friendly and economic alternative to other energy recovery routes.

Concerning the revision of the Waste Framework Directive, it is imperative that there is a flexible waste ‘hierarchy’, which should safeguard all environmentally friendly recovery options.  Several such options exist and industry needs flexibility to put them into practice.

Mr Teppola added “the plastics industry is committed to minimising the amount of plastics waste that reaches landfill.  This workshop was aimed at show-casing one of the many recovery options for plastics that needs further attention”.

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For further information contact Phillip Davison, PlasticsEurope, 6 Bath Place, Rivington Street, London, EC2A 3JE, UK, tel: + 44 7774 110284, email: [email protected]

Notes for editorsPlasticsEurope is the plastics manufacturers association created in 2004 merging European (APME) and national plastics industry bodies into one single networked organisation. The association has more than 60 member companies, producing over 90% of polymers in Europe. The plastics chain in Europe - including converters and machinery manufacturers - employs 1.5 million people. The combined turnover of our industry is approximately 160 billion euro per annum. PlasticsEurope operates from six decentralised offices: one in Brussels and five regional centres located in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

The Finnish Plastics Industries Federation (FIPIF) is the trade and labour market organisation for the plastics industry and companies which use plastics as a raw material and convert it into plastics products. The FIPIF was founded in 1961 and its origins go to the year 1941. FIPIF is a member of the Chemical Industry Federation of Finland and of The Confederation of Finnish Industries EK.  The turnover of the plastics raw material industry and plastics converting industry in Finland was in 2005 about 3,3 billion euros. This was made by  650 companies having about 15 000 employees together.

The Association of Environmental Enterprises is an industrial life organisation of entrepreneurs and companies in the environmental field. It is a member of the Chemical Industry Federation in Finland, which is a member of the Confederation of Finnish Industries. The association acts effectively and anticipates the changes in the operating environment, and promotes the business of its members both nationally and internationally. The association has over 100 members. They represent over 80 % of the annual turnover of the field in Finland and employ about 83 % of the employees in the environmental field.