Trade barriers in China and ramped up recycling targets in Europe will be among the topics of discussion when recyclers gather for the 2017 edition of Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference Europe. The event takes place Nov. 7-8 at the Hilton Warsaw Hotel and Convention Centre in Poland.

The event’s opening session will focus on import restrictions being initiated in China. China’s Ministry of the Environment (MEP), China Customs and other central government agencies have undertaken facility inspections and issued directives in 2017 that have played a dominant role in demand for and pricing of many plastic and paper scrap grades. China’s government actions are poised to remain a critical influence for the rest of this decade.

The Tuesday morning, Nov. 7, opening session is titled Gateways and Barriers: The Export Situation I and will include a presentation created by Steve Wong, chairman of the Hong Kong-based Fukutomi Co. and president of the China Scrap Plastics Association (CSPA). The presentation, to be made by Brian Taylor of the Recycling Today Media Group, has been designed to present the latest information gathered by the CSPA on China’s plastic scrap import situation.

Also presenting at the opening session are Craig Robinson, the purchasing director of Cycle Link UK, and Thijs Cox of Netherland-based Ciparo BV, each of whom has considerable experiencing trading scrap materials between Europe and China.

The conference’s second session, Gateways and Barriers: The Export Situation II, has been designed to offer updates on smaller but growing scrap paper and plastic trading partners in Asia, including the Indian subcontinent and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region, which includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Another Tuesday, Nov. 7 session, Getting on Board, will look at aggressive recycling goals in the European Union and individual nations in Europe, and how recyclers, corporate stakeholders, brand owners and their trade organizations are responding to the directives and mandates.

The following session, A Revving Engine, offers a closer look at Eastern and Central Europe (including host nation Poland) and how and to what extent the growing manufacturing sector in those regions creates opportunities for paper and plastic recyclers.

Two materials-specific sessions—one for paper and the other for plastic—Wednesday, Nov. 8, will allow presenters to focus more narrowly on the dynamics in the scrap paper and plastic markets.

The paper session will look at Europe’s mill capacity situation as well as the growing dominance of packaging grades to the overall health of the sector. The session Plastic’s Bright Future (and Dark Cloud) will examine plastic’s continued growth as a basic material, but also its status as a target of environmental scrutiny in Europe and elsewhere—largely because of its unwelcome waste presence.

Speakers on all topics have been lined up by the conference’s organizers and include representatives from companies with a major presence in Europe’s and Asia’s recycling industry, including:

• Smurfit-Kappa Group, Ireland; 
• Paprec Group, France; 
• Hamburger Recycling, Austria; 
• Polski Recycling Association, Poland; 
• CycleLink UK, United Kingdom; 
• Gemini Corporation, Belgium; 
• Asia Pacific Pulp & Paper, Indonesia; 
• Victory Creations/Paperworks, India; 
• Nextek, United Kingdom; 
• Ciparo BV, Netherlands; 
• RPC BPI Group, United Kingdom; 
• Moore & Associates, United States; 
• Steinert, Germany; 
• Pöyry Management Consulting, United Kingdom; 
• Bin-e, Poland; 
• Recycling Technologies, United Kingdom; 
• Kühne + Nagel KG, Germany; and
• Vipa Lausanne, Switzerland.

More information on the event’s other sessions, as well as information on how to register, can be found here. For those who miss the online registration deadline, on-site registration will be offered at the event on Nov. 7 and 8.