SUSTAINABILITY IN THE PLASTICS SECTOR AND THE NEED FOR CONTROLLED TRANSITION
Protecting the environment is our shared responsibility. However, while achieving sustainability goals, we need to act without ignoring the realities of production, employment, and industry. What the plastics sector needs are sustainable policies that strengthen the recycling infrastructure rather than bans, support transformation, and are based on a gradual transition.
Kenan BENLİLER
Turkish Plastics Industrialists Association (PAGDER)
Chairman of the Board
Dear Friends, The issue of environment and sustainability has now become one of the common agenda items of the entire world. As the plastics sector, we are aware of our responsibility regarding the reduction of environmental impacts, increasing resource efficiency, and the transition to a circular economy. In recent years, our sector has made significant investments in many areas, from recycling technologies to sustainable product designs. However, we believe that while trying to achieve environmental goals, industrial realities, economic balances, and implementation capacities must also be taken into consideration.
In this context, the draft regulation on single-use plastics on the public agenda has brought about a comprehensive evaluation process in our sector. It appears that the draft has been prepared largely based on the European Union’s Single-Use Plastics Directive. However, it is known that even in European Union countries, various problems are experienced in implementation processes. We are of the opinion that a direct adaptation made without considering Turkey's production infrastructure, economic conditions, and industrial scale could lead to serious consequences.
PLASTIC PRODUCTS ARE AN INDISPENSABLE
PART OF MODERN LIFE
First of all, it should be stated that single-use plastic products are not the sole basis of environmental problems. The real issue is the lack of effective waste management systems, inadequacies in the recycling infrastructure, and the fact that consumer awareness has not reached the desired level. Today, the focus of environmental policies in developed economies is not direct bans, but rather increasing recycling rates, sorting waste at the source, and strengthening the circular economy. Seeing plastic products solely as the cause of environmental problems would be an incomplete assessment of the issue. On the other hand, plastic products are an indispensable part of modern life. They have an important function, especially due to the advantages they provide in areas such as food safety, hygiene, health, and logistics. Many life cycle analysis studies conducted on the environmental impacts of alternative materials also reveal that some alternatives can create a higher carbon footprint compared to plastic products. Therefore, we think that environmental evaluations should not be product-based, but should be handled with a life cycle approach in the light of scientific data.
THE TIMELINE OF BANS RAISES
QUESTION MARKS FOR THE SECTOR
In addition, the plan to implement the bans foreseen in the draft in a short time raises significant question marks for the sector. Especially the majority of businesses operating in the field of single-use products produce on an SME scale. It seems quite difficult for these businesses to completely transform their existing production infrastructures in a short time. Such a process could cause investments to remain idle, production losses, and negative effects on employment. Indeed, the plastics sector is not just about its own production volume; it is one of the fundamental components of a wide economic chain ranging from packaging to logistics, food to retail. In this process, as PAGDER, we continue to share the views and suggestions of our sector with all relevant institutions.
WE CARRY OUT ACTIVITIES TO INFORM
THE PUBLIC ACCURATELY
We comprehensively bring the potential economic and sectoral impacts of the draft regulation to the agenda in meetings held with Ministry representatives, sectoral organizations, and business world stakeholders. In addition, we carry out various informative activities to contribute to the healthy evaluation of the issue in the public eye, and we strive to explain the sector's investments and transformation efforts in the field of sustainability. We find environmental sustainability goals extremely important. However, we believe that sustainability should be evaluated together with its economic and social dimensions, not just environmental ones. We are of the opinion that policies that strengthen the recycling infrastructure, support the transformation of the industry, and are based on a gradual transition, rather than prohibitory approaches, will yield much healthier results.
This content has been translated using artificial intelligence technology.