UP FRONT 01
EDITOR’S LETTER
It is good to be able to spend some time at the desk after a hectic
Any closed loop system relies on all participants in the
few weeks attending conferences around the world. These events
circular supply chain to do their part to keep the loop going.
can merge into one another after a while, particularly when they
In many supply chains, the weakest link may well be the
are often covering much of the same ground – although if all the
consumer – and they need to be incentivised in some way to
organisers are agreeing on the hot topics of the year, then they are
play their part. Perhaps, it was suggested, in the future we
probably all making the right call.
will not buy shoes and clothes but merely pay a monthly ‘rent’
After the past two years, which focused very much on the use of digital technologies to enhance efficiency in the chemical supply chain, this year the agreed topic was sustainability. This might
to the manufacturer, to ensure that we take them back to the store at the end of their useful life and get a replacement. There are, though, two obvious examples of a closed
seem like an old topic come back to haunt us but it was obvious
loop system in the chemical supply chain. One long-
that, for all the talk of sustainability and all the pages of annual
established loop is provided by some of the major packaging
sustainability reports generated (probably at a high cost in terms
manufacturers, who have put in place networks to collect
of greenhouse gas emissions), nothing much has been achieved.
and return used IBCs so they can be cleaned and
Perhaps, some wondered, digitisation may have a role to play in
remanufactured. This month we report on Mauser’s extended
doing something concrete towards improving the sustainability
range of packagings manufactured from post-consumer
record of the petrochemical sector?
resin, which takes that on to the realm of plastics drums.
One practical method of improving sustainability is to move towards a circular economy. Instead of the old pattern of ‘extract-manufacture-dispose’, the circular economy has a
And, of course, steel drums and IBCs have long been retrieved and re-used. The tank container is another closed loop packaging; meant
pattern of ‘reuse-remanufacture-recycle’. Closing this loop
to last for decades, these packagings are valuable items in
leads to much better utilisation of finite resources and, along
themselves and therefore are meant to be re-used many
the way, also helps the supply chain, since there is a built-in
times over. Which makes it very strange that some chemical
backhaul cargo.
manufacturers opt for single-use packagings, at least for their
But it is difficult to find examples of the circular economy in the
non-hazardous products. Flexitanks are the polar opposite of
chemical industry. Extensive discussion during EPCA’s Annual
tank containers: single-use bags with no apparent return and
Meeting in Berlin last month did point to a few: one manufacturer
recycling loop, and are often used once and sent to landfill.
of sports shoes, for instance, is now making a trainer from a single
Those using them should consider whether this fits their
polymer, to make it easier to recycle, and Ineos has run a pilot project
sustainability goals.
to turn used yoghurt pots back into virgin-quality polystyrene.
Peter Mackay
WWW.HCBLIVE.COM
