Plastics too valuable to be thrown away, circularity needs improving – Borealis exec

VIENNA (ICIS)–Plastics are too valuable to be thrown away but the industry needs to improve their circularity, an executive at European polymers major Borealis said on Thursday.

“We haven’t really improved our circularity [in the plastics industry] very well,” said Guenter Stephan, head of circular economy at Borealis.

“We need to engage ourselves longer than the chain.”

Stephan was opening the ICIS Polyolefins Circular Economy Forum, part of the 8th ICIS World Polyoleifns Conference.

“We need to understand how waste collection is done. In Europe, it’s diverse but we also have to look a the rest of the world to think about,” added Guenter.

The ICIS Polyolefins Circular Economy Forum is being held in Vienna on Thursday 4 April, and is supported by Borealis and Everminds.

The 8th ICIS World Polyolefins Conference runs in Vienna on 3-4 April.