SCS, Plarebel enter into reciprocal membership

Styrenics Circular Solutions (SCS), a Brussels-based value chain initiative focused on realizing a circular economy for styrenic polymers, recently reached a reciprocal membership agreement with Plarebel, a Belgian nonprofit committed to developing a circular economy for plastics.

According to SCS, Plarebel has become a reference in Belgium for anyone looking for information, advice and guidance in the field of effective recycling of high-quality plastics since its formation in 1999. Plarebel has maintained a longstanding partnership with Belgian household packaging producer responsibility organization (PRO) Fost Plus, as well as direct connections with other European extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems, such as Valipac and Valorlux, and with the Belgian plastic packaging industry. Additionally, Plarebel co-chairs the technical working group of the European Association of Plastics Recycling and Recovery Organizations (EPRO).

SCS says the reciprocal membership agreement is intended to draw this together with SCS’ track record of developing a diverse portfolio of recycling solutions for styrenics specifically, together with its members and partners, in order to further scale up solutions along its value chain. The organization says it will contribute to optimizing plastic recycling through improved packaging design, better understanding of consumer behavior regarding separate collection and sorting yields.

“We are pleased to become a member of Plarebel and also welcome them as members of SCS,” SCS Secretary General Jens Kathmann says. “This reflects our shared ambition, as well as the progress of circular polystyrene. It offers an opportunity to benefit from one another’s expertise and capabilities to further advance the collection, sorting and recycling of polystyrene packaging in Belgium and beyond.”

Plarebel President Saskia Walraedt echoes Kathmann’s optimism.

“We are delighted to welcome SCS, as well as to join them,” Walraedt says. “Our reciprocal membership will deliver even deeper expertise regarding the circular dynamic of the different types of polystyrene packaging on the European market. We see the potential for powerful synergy, especially around the circular design of all types of plastic packaging, an area of great interest for European brand owners and retailers.”