German Plastics Group Developing Plastics Recycling Program

A German trade association announced plans to improve the technology of plastics recycling.

The GKV, an association of plastics companies in Germany, announced that the group, along with members of the association, have created a group to look at improving the recycling of plastics in the automotive and electronics areas.

Reinhardt Proske, president of GKV, noted that the decision comes while the European Union is becoming more aggressive with plastics recycling issues as they pertain to the automotive and electronics industries.

According to published reports, by 2006 at least 85 percent of the average weight of an EOL-V must be recovered, and at least 80 percent reused or recycled. The quotas rise by 2015 to 95 percent recovery and 85 percent recycling.

This past June, the EU passed a directive mandating manufacturers of electronics equipment to develop a system for recycling and reusing the used equipment. This step put even greater pressure on plastics producers to develop comprehensive strategies to make the plastics used in this electronics equipment more recyclable.