Plasticity Forum chooses Portugal as 2015 venue

Organizers of the Plasticity Forum have announced that the fourth annual version of the event will be June 8-9, 2015, in Cascais, Portugal. The forum has been scheduled  so it can be part of a global series of events in Portugal that month on the stewardship of the ocean, says Doug Woodring, the founder of Plasticity.

Also taking place in that same time frame in Portugal are The Economist’s World Ocean Summit and Portugal’s Blue Week. The theme of the 2015 Plasticity Forum, says Woodring, is “Designing for Circularity, Customer Engagement, Reverse Supply Chains and Reaching Scale.”

The Plasticity Forum is designed to gather “leading experts including innovators, entrepreneurs, industry leaders, brand managers, educators, think tanks, government agencies, designers, angel investors and service industries to share key learnings, experience and future strategies around the use and recovery of plastics,” says Woodring. The 2015 Plasticity Forum will cover developments in waste as a resource, scalable innovations in plastic that save money, the use of new materials, designing for sustainability and solutions for a world where plastic is used but without the footprint.

“Plastic doesn’t need to be a problem,” states Woodring. “There are solutions out there that can keep it from becoming waste, but we are not focusing on them in a scalable manner. The aim of Plasticity is to show who’s already doing it, how you can do it and how to commercialize it for the betterment of business, the environment and our communities.”

The Plasticity Forum was originally launched at the Rio+20 Earth Summit in 2012 in Rio de Janeiro as a platform to elevate the discussion around plastic pollution at large multi-lateral environmental events, says Woodring. He says the event brings together attendees from all across the spectrum of plastic use, production, design and re-use “in a positive and productive environment, which is needed to collectively create solutions which companies and governments can use in all types of circumstances and societies.” He continues, “Leaders will address innovation, design, materials, recycling and solutions, so that plastic does not become a waste product and impact our communities and environment.”

Some estimates, including from the World Bank, suggest the world’s municipal solid waste generation could double by 2025. Few countries or cities are capable of handling this materials stream, of which plastic makes up an increasing percentage, as the recycling infrastructure in many countries cannot keep pace with the wide variety of materials and products.

Speakers at the Forum will be announced and information made available on the speaker’s page at www.plasticityforum.com.