Ömer Karadeniz, Chairman of the Plastics Industrialists Federation (PLASFED), stated that plastic recycling is a complementary part of our sector with aspects such as reducing environmental impacts, ensuring sustainability, and raw material supply security: “The circular economy, which is influencing the plastics industry both globally and in Turkey, is rapidly developing.
Ömer Karadeniz, Chairman of the Plastics Industrialists Federation (PLASFED), stated that plastic recycling is a complementary part of our sector with aspects such as reducing environmental impacts, ensuring sustainability, and raw material supply security: “The circular economy, which is influencing the plastics industry both globally and in Turkey, is rapidly developing. If we want to catch this paradigm shift from linear to circular in the coming period, we must work much harder,” he said.
Plastic; is a raw material with economic value that must be used correctly
Ömer Karadeniz, President of the Plastics Industrialists Federation (PLASFED), emphasized that the Turkish plastics sector is one of the sectors that contribute most to the country’s economy, saying, “Our sector, which contributed to our country in terms of exports in 2021, will continue to contribute directly and indirectly to exports in the coming period. Plastic; is a raw material with economic value that must be used correctly. Unfortunately, we can say that the main problem of the waste issue encountered today does not stem from the plastic raw material itself, but from failures in how plastic is used, its post-use management, and the evaluation of waste. As a sector, we have very serious studies on this issue, but it is very important that these studies are supported by both our public authorities and the public,” he said.
The economic size of the plastic recycling sector will increase over the next 30 years
Ömer Karadeniz stated that the importance of the circular economy and, consequently, recycling is rapidly increasing today, saying, “Turkey has a plastic waste processing capacity that can compete with the world. We predict that the economic size of the plastic recycling sector will increase over the next 30 years, forming a market of approximately 900 billion dollars by 2050. Many of our industrial organizations operate honestly and in compliance with laws, making serious efforts for our country to take part in this newly developing industry. In this context, waste management in our country should be improved by establishing source separation and deposit-return systems. It is even possible to reduce solid waste landfilling to zero with the right strategies,” he said.
Plastic reduces carbon emissions
Ömer Karadeniz stated that one of the most important problems of the sector is the negative perceptions about plastic, saying, “Today, plastic is at the forefront of the materials necessary for a clean world by reducing carbon emissions. Thanks to the chemical recycling method, plastic is transformed into very valuable chemicals. Currently, developed countries, seeing that the linear economic model, described as “produce-use-dispose,” applied during industrialization and development processes, threatens sustainable development, are following an economic model where waste is perceived not as trash but as a resource and adapted into the system – that is, the circular economy. Many industrial organizations in our country have also set targets to make their ways of doing business more sustainable. For these targets to be successful and for a complete transition to a circular economy, the action plan, incentives, and legal regulations to be made by our public authorities are very important,” he said.
This content has been translated using artificial intelligence technology.