PLASFED President Ömer Karadeniz joined Naz Özdeğirmenci as a guest on the live broadcast of the Gün Ortası program on CNBC-e on April 8, 2025. During the program, Karadeniz answered questions concerning sustainability in the plastic sector and emphasized the importance of targeting environmental, social, and cultural transformation to expand economic activities in a sustainable world.

 

Karadeniz stated that materials should be recycled to create economic value, noting that this can only be achieved through the Source Separation System (KAS).  

Karadeniz mentioned that KAS has been implemented in developed countries for about 40 years; however, unfortunately, our country has not yet reached the desired level in this regard. He asserted that it is of great importance to separate and recycle waste at the source to reduce resource usage for a sustainable world, stating, "If we cannot adequately implement the Source Separation System, it will be impossible to reach sufficient levels in terms of sustainability and recycling technologies."

 

Plastic is present in every aspect of our lives

Karadeniz stated that the plastic sector is an important industry that drives technological advancement globally and emphasized that plastic is used in every area of daily life from A to Z. He noted that it is impossible for a person to eliminate plastic from their life, as it is present everywhere from shoe heels to hair ties. He elaborated that plastics are involved even in our daily eyewear and technological products like contact lenses, mentioning that Turkey ranks seventh in the world and second in Europe, after Germany, in rapidly increasing plastic production.

 

Plastic reduces carbon emissions

Karadeniz pointed out the crucial role plastics play in combating global warming, mentioning that plastic use in many sectors helps reduce fuel consumption by decreasing the weight of vehicles. He noted that this contributes to a reduction in carbon emissions, thus mitigating environmental impacts. Karadeniz stated:

"Thanks to plastics, we can travel much farther using less fuel. The significant use of plastics in aircraft manufacturing translates into considerable fuel savings. For instance, the use of plastic fiber composites in the wind boxes of the Airbus A380, the largest aircraft in the world, reduces the aircraft's weight by 1.5 tons, allowing it to fly longer distances on the same amount of fuel, carry more cargo, and achieve high energy efficiency."

 

DIS and KAS can eliminate environmental factors

Karadeniz, the president of the umbrella organization PLASFED, reported that the plastic sector is among the priority sectors that need to undergo transformation to achieve the carbon-neutral and circular economy model targeted by the European Union's Green Deal.

Thus, Karadeniz stated that Turkey, which has intense trade relations with the EU, wants the plastic sector to be prepared for the new trade regulations mentioned in the EU Green Deal, noting that the sector has several projects that can yield great results if followed up diligently. He highlighted that both the Deposit Refund System (DIS) and the Source Separation System (KAS) can eliminate environmental factors and also address the raw material issue to some extent.

Translated by Artificial Intelligence