Speakers - BPF Recycling Seminar 2019

Roger Baynham, Philip Tyler Polymers

Roger has been Chairman of the British Plastics Federation Recycling Group since 2011 and has close to 30 years experience in the industry with Philip Tyler Polymers LTD where he has been Managing Director since 1994. He has held various other directorships including Environmental Recycling Technologies PLC where he held executive and non executive roles between 2008 -2015. 

Dr Mark Dawes, DuPont Teijin Films

Dr Mark Dawes is the European Market Development Manager for DuPont Teijin Films' packaging business.  He  has 26 years of technical and scientific experience in PET based flexible packaging and has been involved in many innovative developments ranging from the replacement of aluminium lids to white PET versions in dairy lidding to the development of high temperature ovenable packaging structures.  For the past decade he has been instrumental in facilitating the advancement of top seal packaging for produce throughout Europe and is a highly regarded expert in the science of heat seals and recently many packer / fillers will have participated in his heat seal masterclasses aimed at sharing knowledge across the supply chain.

Professor Richard Thompson - Plymouth University

Richard wrote the first paper describing the accumulation of micropalstics in the ocean and much of his work over the last two decades has focused on marine debris; its sources, distribution and impacts as well as potential solutions. He has over 170 publications (H-index 54) and leads an extensive research portfolio. He was a co-author of the European Union Marine Strategy Framework Directive text on marine litter and has been a member of numerous international working groups on marine litter including GESAMP, NCEAS, UNEP, UNIRP.  In 2014 he presented his research to the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, at his Our Ocean meeting in Washington. He has also presented to scientific and policy leads from OECD and G7 nations. Recent work by his team directly informed the UK Government decision to introduce legislation on the use of microplastics in cosmetics and contributed to the Environmental Audit Committee report of Sustainable Fashion. In 2017 Thompson received the Marsh Award for Marine and Freshwater Conservation for his work on plastics; and was recognised in the New Year Honours List, with an OBE for services to Marine Science. He leads the International Marine Litter Research Unit at Plymouth.