The European perspective

Nov. 2-3, 2016, the Hilton Rotterdam in Rotterdam, Netherlands, will play host to Paper Recycling Conference Europe and to Plastics Recycling Conference Europe. These co-located events, organized by the Recycling Today Media Group, Valley View, Ohio, allow professionals to network with new contacts or to reconnect with existing vendors and customers, as well as to share their opinions on the direction of their respective markets. Additionally, a single registration fee gets attendees access to both the Paper Recycling Conference Europe and the Plastics Recycling Conference Europe.

According to Jim Keefe, publisher of the Recycling Today Media Group, the co-located events provide the opportunity to discuss the factors that directly influence the markets for secondary paper and plastics, giving the industries the chance they need to plan accordingly.

“Nobody has a crystal ball,” Keefe says. “But we tend to feel that by bringing together a diverse group of speakers that we’re able to do the best job that is possible to provide critical insights.”

The Paper Recycling Conference Europe began as a solo event in 2004. According to Keefe, the conference was established to bring the trans-European paper recycling community together.

“That included not only paper recyclers—the packers and collectors of recovered fiber—but also the mills that were involved in consuming that recovered fiber,” Keefe says.

“As the marketplace evolved … many of those on the collection and packing side of the business integrated plastics into their businesses. And so we began covering plastics to a greater degree in the context of our program,” he adds.

The co-located conferences have been held at various venues throughout Europe over the years. Rotterdam was chosen to host the 2016 events because of its status as one of the largest ports in Europe.

“We’ve not been back in Holland or the Benelux in some years,” Keefe says. “As we evaluated different cities … Rotterdam just kind of stood out as a unique choice.”

Wade Schuetzeberg of ACN Europe, Rotterdam, describes the conference as a “great forum to meet with regular suppliers … but also those stakeholders I might not regularly meet with.”

“I have attended quite a few conferences,” says Joris de Caluwe of Ciparo BV, Netherlands. “My main target is to meet customers and suppliers and to get some attractive presentations from which I can learn something.”

Attendees of Paper Recycling Conference Europe and of Plastics Recycling Conference Europe naturally differ on what issues and topics are of interest to them, but there are some shared concerns as well.

Schuetzeberg says he would like to know how suppliers and exporters are implementing new SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) Convention measures regarding verifying shipping container weight. He also would like to discuss the need to harmonize local authorities’ export requirements.

Meanwhile, de Caluwe says he is more concerned with the practical problems in plastics and recovered fiber shipping created by the European waste shipment regulation (EVOA).

Also, the potential ramifications of changes in the larger political landscape are likely to dominate delegates’ minds.

“Everyone’s looking today for deeper insight into where the demand side of the market is going to trend,” Keefe says. “What’s going to happen with exports as China’s growth has moderated, and what does that mean for the export market? Furthermore, where are the other export market opportunities?”

De Caluwe agrees that he would like to learn more about predictions for China’s economic future and how it might affect the sale of recovered fiber to the country.

Additionally, many attendees likely will wish to know how Great Britain’s recent vote to leave the European Union (EU) will affect the EU’s plastics and paper markets.

Keefe adds that he thinks there are three key things likely to bring people to the conferences. “They’re looking for insights on the markets, for relationships with new trading partners, and they’re looking to build and facilitate the existing trading relationships that they have,” he says. “And we provide a nice opportunity to do all of those things,” Keefe adds.

The Paper Recycling Conference Europe and the Plastics Recycling Conference Europe programs are scheduled similarly, with networking breaks and lunches occurring between panel discussions.

“We devise the event to have as many networking opportunities as possible,” Keefe says. “We also work very hard in crafting our program to bring together high value speakers who have not only a wide breadth of knowledge about the industry but also depth.”

The paper program

Nov. 2, the Paper Recycling Conference Europe opens with Executive Roundtable: Paper and Board in Europe. Panelists discuss possible directions the industry will take in the next several years. The second session, Collection Impacts and Perspectives, presents information on programs to alter fiber recovery in Europe. Next, researchers discuss possible paper and board industry trends as suggested by data they have collected, followed by an examination of European export markets. The first night of the event concludes with a drinks reception at the Port of Rotterdam.

Programming begins Nov. 3 with a session on high-tonnage packaging grades that dominate the recovered fiber industry. The final session, Paying the Freight: Europe’s Transportation Challenges, addresses issues facing ocean shipping and the road, rail and barge systems that help fiber circulate within and away from Europe.

The various panels include representatives from companies such as:

• Poyry, Finland;
• Cellpap, Netherlands;
• Veolia, France;
• Confederation of Europe Paper Industries (CEPI), Belgium;
• Maersk, Denmark; and
• Marine Transport International, U.K.

The plastics program

Plastics Recycling Conference Europe’s opening session, Going Full Circle: Tracing the Circular Economy, covers the circular economy goals established by the EU and what they could mean for the use of plastics in the EU. It is likely that the effects of the recent Brexit vote will be discussed at this event, as well. Additional sessions Nov. 2 include The Wider World of Plastic Scrap, which examines the global plastic scrap market, and Shifting Gears: Opportunities in ELV (end-of-life vehicles) Recycling.

Programming begins Nov. 3 with the session The Economics of Plastic Recycling. In the final session, Price Points: A Discussion of Plastic Scrap’s Value, representatives of services that help determine the value of plastic scrap in Europe offer insights into how their pricing helps connect the market.

Businesses providing representatives for these sessions include:

• Unilever, U.K.;
• ALBA Group, Germany;
• InterGroup International, Cleveland;
• Gemini Corp., Belgium;
• Daly Plastics, Netherlands;
• MBA Polymers, U.K.;
• Fukutomi Corp., Hong Kong;
• BPI Recycling, U.K.; and
• ARN, Netherlands.

More information on these co-located events, including an updated list of speakers and registration details, is available at www.RecyclingTodayEvents.com.

The author is an intern with the Recycling Today Media Group.