PRESS RELEASE

Brussels, 13^thJune 2008

2008World Recycling Convention &

BIR’s60^thAnniversary Celebration

MonteCarlo, 2-4 June 2008

PlasticsCommittee:

Carboncredits for plastics recycling

The recycling of plasticsreducescarbon emissions and therefore should receive carbon credits,according to BIR Plastics Committee Chairman Surendra Borad of GeminiCorporation NV of Belgium.

According to US EnvironmentProtectionAgency figures, 0.77 tonnes of greenhouse gases were saved for everytonne of plastics recycled, he explained in Monte-Carlo. “Sotheoretically it is eligible for about Euro 8 per tonne,” he said.“This would give a good boost to recycling. I believe we have tocontinue discussions on this point.”

The Plastics Committeemeeting inMonte-Carlo also featured the traditional round of market reports.Jacques Musa of Veolia Propreté France Recycling pointed toconstantly increasing demand for secondary plastics within the Frenchmarket, notably polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene. However,he also identified two key problems in the export sphere: “headaches”regarding the disclosure requirements of the Annex VII shipmentdocument which effectively meant “giving our business away”; andquality issues relating to shipments to China, notably surroundingfilm qualities mixed with quantities of agricultural or constructionindustry foils “which are completely forbidden”.

On the subject of AnnexVII, BIR’sEnvironmental & Technical Director Ross Bartley described thedocument as “too complicated” and manifestly open to misuse. Byway of example, he noted that the government of an unspecifiedcountry had been collating information from Annex VII forms -including details of suppliers and consumers - on a database whichwas subsequently made available to two commercial companies. “It issomething that very much needs to be fixed,” said the speaker.

Peter Daalder of DalyPlastics BV inthe Netherlands also focused on shipments. He expressed concern thateven the slightest contamination found in loads could result indelays and even court action. The Spanish market report submitted byMarc Figueras, and read in his absence by Mr Musa, spoke of a“difficult period” characterised by lower demand as well as by alarge number of containers blocked at domestic ports.

Reporting on India, MrBorad noted thatstricter implementation of EU Waste Shipment Regulations had led to areduction in German imports of plastics scrap. Low-densitypolyethylene film accounted for around 80% of India’s annualimports of around 100,000 tonnes, with PET film scrap making up theremainder. Meanwhile, India’s per capita consumption of plasticswas expected to surge from 6 kg to 10 kg within the next two or threeyears, he added.

Also reading a reportsubmitted by FredJiang of Sims Group, Mr Borad stated that reprocessing of secondaryplastics in Australia had reportedly exceeded 300,000 tonnes in 2007.Growth in exports of plastics scrap had led to tight conditions inthe Australian market, it was noted.

Guest speaker at thePlastics Committeemeeting in Monte-Carlo was Christian-Yves Crepet, Director General ofplastics recycler Sorepla Industrie of France. Having emphasised theimportance of rinsing to obtaining an improved yield from his PETscrap feed, he underlined his concern about access to raw material.Available tonnages were no longer increasing whereas “washingcapacities are growing to create an enormous overcapacity in Europe”.