Page 54 - Plastics News April 2024

BUSINESS NEWS

design, environmental impact through
life cycle assessment (LCA) and car-
bon foot printing through the cor-
porate carbon footprint certification,
which will be mandatory for compa-
nies in the coming years.
In the area of training, 76 training ac-
tivities and conferences were held
with the attendance of more than
1,500 professionals from some 900
companies. These activities included
the new professional degree in the
circular economy, which was very
to the circular economy were pre- bels. Furthermore, in 2023, AIMPLAS well received in its first and second
sented last year, 10% more than in continued to increase its biodegrada- editions, the eighth edition of the In-
the previous year. These projects in- tion capacities, as well as related ac- ternational Seminar on Biopolymers
cluded RASPONS, whose results are creditations, such as DIN CERTCO and Sustainable Composites, as well
cardboard-like compostable products in Europe and BPI certification in the as the second edition of the Interna-
from agricultural by-products from United States, thus complementing its tional Seminar on Recycling, which
the wine sector; FUSTARISE, which TÜV Austria certification and offering was attended by more than 300 peo-
uses mechanochemistry to obtain sus- the most complete laboratory for bio- ple. Organisation of the sixth edi-
tainable adhesives and packaging from degradation and compostability tests tion of MeetingPack in collaboration
pruning waste; ELLIPSE, a European under aerobic and anaerobic condi- with AINIA, which will take place on
project that recovers slaughterhouse tions in different media. 10-11th April, has also started. Fur-
waste and sludge and paper pulp for AIMPLAS has also positioned itself as thermore, the seventh edition of the
applications in agriculture and person- a benchmark in certifications for the Plastics and Circular Economy con-
al care; RECRITIC, in which electrical use of recycled plastic in packaging ference, a national benchmark in the
and electronic equipment is recycled in accordance with standards UNE- field, will be held on 7th November.
to recover critical raw materials; EN 15343 and Recyclass for both This steady increase in activity was
BIOICEP, which develops methods to recyclers and converters by offering accompanied by investments in new
obtain bioplastics from conventional certification that allows companies infrastructure, such as the newly ex-
plastics; and RECICAUTXU, which to demonstrate the amount of recy- panded facilities for synthesis, trans-
seeks solutions for recovering end-of- cled material in their packaging and formation, recycling and biodegra-
life tyres for use in construction.
therefore reduce the impact of taxes dation pilot plants. In keeping with
Technological services and training on non-reusable plastic packaging. environmental sustainability, the in-

In terms of technological services, Other key services are related to as- crease in people, activity and facilities
AIMPLAS worked with more than sessing the recyclability of products was carried out while taking into ac-
600 companies on 1,100 services re- in accordance with the protocols count environmental impacts. AIM-
lated to the circular economy in 2023 of Plastics Recycling Europe (PRE) PLAS therefore continued to make
and increased its turnover in consul- and the Association of Plastics Recy- progress in its emissions reduction
tancy and laboratory services by more clers (APR) in the United States. The plan, which enabled the Centre to
than 30% compared to the previous Centre also provides reuse testing to obtain the REDUZCO seal from the
year. The Centre’s laboratory services demonstrate reusability through the Ministry for Ecological Transition and
include the most accredited tests for Designed to be Reusable label and the the Demographic Challenge after
the plastics industry in Spain, which development of new test methods for reducing its emissions by 83% since
means that companies were able to the identification and characterisation 2019.
verify the sustainability of their prod- of micro plastics. In addition, AIMP- Source: Medical Plastics News
ucts and publicise it by obtaining ecola- LAS covers all aspects related to Eco

56 PLASTICS NEWS April 2024