From trash to resources. The future of plastics management 2013

To debunk the false myth of plastic, and in particular polyethylene products, as a “problem” and, on the contrary, see this product as a resource, an asset to be exploited which, if properly recycled, can generate a green economy capable of creating development and employment. The waste management governance system needs to be reformed in this direction, by orienting public and private environmental policies – also by promoting forms of advantageous taxation – towards the recycling of materials and the purchase of recycled plastic goods, and – following the EU guidelines – committing to reducing the use of waste-to-energy as much as possible.
This has always been the objective of PolieCo, which for years has been at the forefront in the control and monitoring of waste flows of polyethylene-based goods, encouraging their collection on the national territory and recycling in compliance with the rules governing the reduction of waste sent to landfills, now banned in Europe for plastic waste, and a parallel lower consumption of this raw material, which has always been scarce in Italy. A condition that had led our country to be a leader in the plastics recycling sector in past decades and to research into the production of recycled plastic goods. Today, however, recourse to forms of disposal other than recycling or the export of plastic waste means that Italy has become a country poor in both raw materials and recycled material, jeopardising all the green policies adopted in recent years.
On the occasion of the 5th edition of the International Forum on the Waste Economy (September 2013), the opening reflection was dedicated to the Study: “From waste to resources. The future of plastics management”, carried out by Eurispes in collaboration with the PoliEco Consortium.