Borouge promotes recycling as sustainable solutions for plastic litter at EcoWaste 2014

Borouge, a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Austrian company Borealisa, promoted plastics waste management and recycling during the EcoWaste Exhibition at the World Future Energy Summit. A delegation which included Herbert Willerth, Board Member of Borouge, Wim Roels, CEO of Borouge's Marketing and Sales Company, and representatives of the senior management of Borouge, visited the exposition and shared their expertise on the topic. Borouge is planning to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Centre of Waste Management - Abu Dhabi (TADWEER) in the near future to further enhance mutual collaboration and join efforts in increasing public awareness about waste management best practices and the need to avoid littering. "As plastic bags are considered the most visible form of litter, reusable plastic bags are the most sustainable and environmentally friendly solution to reducing plastic litter in the environment," said Craig Halgreen, Vice President for Corporate Sustainability at Borouge at the EcoWaste conference. "These can either be heavy weight polyethylene bags or non-woven polypropylene bags that are fully recyclable. For this solution to be effective, society needs to adapt to a responsible and discipline role in the way they carry their shopping items and goods." The first step to drive the change towards these reusable plastic bags is to enforce a charge for plastic bags, explained Halgreen. "Far too often small grocery stores give these single-use plastic bags away indiscriminately for minor purchases and these are very quickly disposed of, often into the environment." Inducing fines for littering also supports the elimination of plastic litter, however, it is vital that adequate collection facilities are in place The EcoWaste exhibition was also an ideal platform for engagement of the waste industry in the region, increasing its focus on sustainability. Borouge underlined its commitment through its presentation to encouraging combined efforts to ensure the right regulation and investments are in place to support the recycling industry. Borouge is increasing its annual capacity to manufacture up to 4.5 million tonnes of polyethylene and polypropylene in 2014, and having the largest integrated single site polyolefins plant in the world, Borouge is concerned about the amount of plastic litter that endangers the environment due to poor human behaviour and inadequate waste management systems and regulations in its home country. "Plastics add significant value to society by providing sustainable solutions to some of today's global challenges with energy-efficient materials for vehicles, food protection and safety, access to water and sanitation, and reliable energy networks", said Peter Malmros, Senior Technical Manager at Borouge at the conference. "Plastics with short life spans, such as packaging, are designed to provide valuable benefits to society. Nevertheless, we could have the same benefits by reducing the amount of plastics in products and encouraging the reuse, recycling and recovering of plastics back to energy after their original intended application thereby minimising their negative impact on the environment."