Retiring BPF President says the Plastics Industry and the BPF are ‘Fit for the Future’

Retiring BPF President Calum Forsyth MD of Wavin UK Ltd speaking at the British Plastics Federation Annual General Meeting says:

“My theme for my two year Presidency has been Fit for the Future.  In 2008 we celebrated the BPF’s 75th Anniversary. We have to ensure the UK Plastics Industry and the BPF are fit for the challenges of the next 75 years."

The Recession

“The current recession is a point in time and whilst Boom and Bust has not been abolished we intend to emerge from this stronger and fitter than before.”

The President had formed the BPF’s Recession Action Group which has led the way in making Government and the Bank of England aware of the industry’s problems and suggesting remedies.

Does the President see “green shoots”?  Mr Forsyth said, “Well not from where I’m standing. The recession still has some time to run and unemployment continues to rise with consumers only buying the essentials.”

He was concerned about huge Government borrowing of £170bn leading to tax rises such as the National Insurance Contributions increase in April 2011 ‘which will hit struggling employers and employees hard.’

He said companies must maintain investment in: Training; Innovation and Marketing to be ready for the upturn.

The Plastics 2020 Challenge

The President appealed for plastics companies to support the ‘Plastics 2020 Challenge with money, their experts and a link to their websites.

This 3 year campaign will initially focus on resource management of plastics, the 4Rs.  The President said these are: “Reduce, Re-use, Recycle and Recover to avoid throwing used plastics into landfill.”

The Challenge administered by the BPF, Plastics Europe and the Packaging and Films Association will have its own website where an open debate on plastics issues is encouraged.

The President said, “There is an escalating public concern over the environment. We must acknowledge this more publicly and be brave enough to encourage and be involved in debating what are often sensitive issues.”

The Challenge will be launched on 7th July in Westminster and underlying intention is to create a better image for plastics.

The President said, “It’s been a pleasure and an honour to serve for two years as President and I hand over the BPF, very definitely Fit for the Future to my successor Paul Jukes.

The London 2012 Olympics and Plastics

Peter Davis Director General of the British Plastics Federation said at the BPF Annual General Meeting that the BPF had been in discussions with the Olympics Delivery Authority (ODA) and the London Organising Committee (LOCOG) last year on the use of plastics.

He welcomed the 10th May letter from Ian Pearson MP the Economic and Business Minister on the use of PVC in the London Olympics (letter attached)

The Minister had written:

“I am pleased that plastics, including PVC, will be used on the Olympic Park – not least because it is a light-weight durable material that can easily be reused and recycled.”

“I welcome the significant progress that industry has already achieved in the recycling of PVC in the UK through its voluntary ‘Recovinyl’ scheme. Therefore, I am confident that the plastics (and especially the PVC) industry will meet the challenge set by the 2012 Games organisers for greater rates of recycling and reuse.”

“I also commend the industry for its commitment to increasing sustainability through a ‘take-back’ scheme such as has operated in other recent Olympic Games to great effect.

Peter Davis says, “This is firm recognition that the knee-jerk anti PVC stance of the Sydney Olympics is long behind us.  It paves the way for a substantial use of plastics including PVC at the London Olympics in: stadia construction; sports equipment and clothing; flags and banners and catering items.”

ENDS

For further information on this press release, please contact Anthony Roberts, British Plastics Federation, 6 Bath Place, Rivington Street, London, EC2A 3JE, tel 020 7457 5043, fax 020 7457 5045, email: [email protected]

Notes for editors:

1)     British Plastics Federation (BPF) is the UK trade association for the plastics industry – representing the whole supply chain including polymer producers, distributors, additives suppliers, machinery manufacturers, processors and recyclers.