Green Deal Could Shift the Balance in the Plastics Sector

Ömer Karadeniz, Chairman of the Board of the Plastics Manufacturers Federation (PLASFED), stated that the Green Deal to be implemented in Europe, Turkey's most important plastic sector export market, could shift the balance in the industry: "If our sector does not prepare for this transition now, it could face market losses in the medium term." Emphasizing that the Green Deal to be implemented by Europe, which accounts for approximately 50% of Turkey's plastic exports, presents significant challenges for both our country and our industry, Ömer Karadeniz said, "If our industrialists cannot read this process correctly and fail to adapt, we could face losses in the European market, which is at the forefront of our traditional export markets and accounts for 50% of our total exports. In this context, developing our industry's knowledge level and adaptation capacity regarding sustainability will be one of our most important priorities in the medium term. Determining the roadmaps that businesses should follow during this transition process, conducting carbon footprint analyses, and establishing medium-term strategies are of vital importance for the sector," he said.

Stating that the concept of waste is a linear economy concept and has no equivalent in the rapidly developing circular economy framework today, Karadeniz said, "I would like to emphasize that our perspective on issues such as plastic waste imports, which have been frequently featured in the media recently, needs to change. If viewed from a circular economy perspective, one will see how meaningless the concept of waste truly is.

Plastic, paper, glass and metal materials can be recycled and reused, while organic waste can be composted to produce fertilizer. In other words, there is no such thing as waste—it is simply a matter of perspective. We will see more clearly in the coming years the real cost of banning waste imports instead of increasing control in recycling by failing to read this change that is rapidly spreading worldwide. We hope this mistake will be corrected as soon as possible, an import channel subject to strict inspection will be opened, and thus our country will not be left out of this trend," he said. Stating that the recycling sector will develop rapidly in order to achieve the ambitious recycling targets set in the EU Green Deal, Ömer Karadeniz said: "We regret to see that the recycling sector, which has shown significant progress in our country on this issue, has been damaged by recent regulations. The environment is everyone's first priority, but based on a small number of bad examples, we must refrain from taking steps that fail to understand the spirit of the times and negatively affect our country's future with poorly conceived regulations. We believe that regulations that effectively ban waste imports and would mean locking the door of our recycling sector will be abandoned, and with effective inspection systems, while preventing environmental problems, our country will not be left outside of this paradigm shift," he said.