How are we creating a circular economy for plastics?

00:00:09:09 - 00:00:10:21

Good morning, everyone.

 

00:00:10:21 - 00:00:15:09

And I'm really glad to be here today for what is going to be our last

 

00:00:15:18 - 00:00:20:01

LinkedIn Live of the year and of this season.

 

00:00:21:10 - 00:00:24:23

Today, we're going to be having a talk about where we started.

 

00:00:25:14 - 00:00:28:11

We started early on with one of our first

 

00:00:28:11 - 00:00:31:05

LinkedIn Live sessions talking about plastics.

 

00:00:32:03 - 00:00:36:02

I'm going to finish talking about plastics because sometimes

 

00:00:36:03 - 00:00:41:08

an analogy of circularity can always go down well. In the UK,

 

00:00:41:08 - 00:00:43:24

some startling statistics about plastics.

 

00:00:44:10 - 00:00:47:14

13,000 tonnes of plastic

 

00:00:47:14 - 00:00:49:22

was recycled in the year 2000.

 

00:00:51:00 - 00:00:53:15

How things have changed.

 

00:00:53:18 - 00:00:56:12

Last year, 390,000

 

00:00:56:15 - 00:00:58:20

tonnes of plastics were collected.

 

00:01:00:14 - 00:01:03:02

Plastic is a miracle product.

 

00:01:04:11 - 00:01:06:06

I do not subscribe to the,

 

00:01:06:06 - 00:01:07:22

we should have zero plastics.

 

00:01:07:22 - 00:01:09:21

That's not going to work.

 

00:01:09:21 - 00:01:15:06

Just think of all the products and items that used to be made out of other things

 

00:01:15:15 - 00:01:18:23

like elephant tusks and things like that are now made out of plastic.

 

00:01:19:04 - 00:01:23:07

I know which I'd prefer, but still,

 

00:01:25:02 - 00:01:25:14

even though

 

00:01:25:14 - 00:01:29:09

86% of plastic packaging is recovered in the UK,

 

00:01:29:22 - 00:01:31:23

only 49% of it is recycled.

 

00:01:33:11 - 00:01:35:16

So there is still work to do.

 

00:01:35:16 - 00:01:38:15

And two of the heroes who are

 

00:01:38:15 - 00:01:40:23

doing that work, wearing their capes

 

00:01:41:11 - 00:01:45:17

and charging around and making it happen, are Benoit

 

00:01:45:24 - 00:01:49:23

and Danny, two colleagues of mine who I'd like to introduce to you now.

 

00:01:51:00 - 00:01:51:21

Danny,

 

00:01:51:21 - 00:01:54:08

Benoit, are you here?

 

00:01:54:20 - 00:01:55:03

Good morning.

 

00:01:55:03 - 00:01:55:22

Hey, Danny.

 

00:01:55:22 - 00:01:56:21

How you doing?

 

00:01:56:21 - 00:01:57:15

Oh, yes, yes.

 

00:01:57:15 - 00:01:59:22

Happy to be with you. Thanks. Hello, Benoit.

 

00:01:59:23 - 00:02:01:02

Good to see you.

 

00:02:01:02 - 00:02:02:23

Good to see you.

 

00:02:03:23 - 00:02:04:17

Do you know what?

 

00:02:04:17 - 00:02:06:15

I'm in that sort of mood.

 

00:02:06:15 - 00:02:09:16

Danny, what present do you want under your Christmas tree,

 

00:02:09:16 - 00:02:12:03

or what are you looking forward to about Christmas this year?

 

00:02:13:12 - 00:02:13:22

Well.

 

00:02:13:22 - 00:02:17:00

Well, I suppose Christmas is going to be interesting

 

00:02:17:00 - 00:02:20:06

because hopefully we can start enjoying it with family and friends

 

00:02:20:06 - 00:02:21:09

with some normality.

 

00:02:21:09 - 00:02:25:02

So I suppose that would be the thing I'm looking forward to the most.

 

00:02:25:17 - 00:02:27:15

A little normality. Yes.

 

00:02:27:15 - 00:02:31:02

It's nice to be this time of year and not thinking about locking down, isn't it?

 

00:02:31:03 - 00:02:33:11

Yeah. Benoit, how about you?

 

00:02:33:11 - 00:02:35:09

What are you looking forward to?

 

00:02:35:09 - 00:02:36:18

No, definitely.

 

00:02:36:18 - 00:02:39:00

I will be with my family as well.

 

00:02:39:12 - 00:02:40:20

Enjoying in the mountain.

 

00:02:40:20 - 00:02:43:19

I like nature, I like sport. I like to ski hiking.

 

00:02:43:19 - 00:02:46:14

So that will be part of what I will do.

 

00:02:46:14 - 00:02:49:15

And yes, it's a good moment

 

00:02:50:05 - 00:02:52:20

with the family and good things for the planet as well.

 

00:02:53:14 - 00:02:54:01

Excellent.

 

00:02:54:01 - 00:02:56:17

Nice and nice and simple family Christmas.

 

00:02:57:06 - 00:02:58:06

That sounds really good.

 

00:02:59:11 - 00:03:01:21

What I haven't done is tell people your job roles.

 

00:03:01:21 - 00:03:02:07

So Benoit,

 

00:03:02:07 - 00:03:04:22

Well, could you tell me, you know, what do you do in Veolia?

 

00:03:05:08 - 00:03:05:23

Okay.

 

00:03:06:01 - 00:03:10:13

So I'm part of Veolia since 20, 23 years.

 

00:03:10:13 - 00:03:14:17

Now I have a strong background in water treatment for industries.

 

00:03:15:04 - 00:03:18:19

And since a few years, I joined to the challenge of increasing

 

00:03:18:19 - 00:03:22:17

the circularity for waste and especially a focus on plastics.

 

00:03:22:17 - 00:03:27:02

So now I am the markets and science director at the headquarters

 

00:03:27:03 - 00:03:31:02

reporting of use to find the right models,

 

00:03:31:02 - 00:03:33:09

the right positioning, and to really address

 

00:03:34:02 - 00:03:36:09

the needs of our clients in terms

 

00:03:36:09 - 00:03:38:10

of the circular polymers.

 

00:03:39:12 - 00:03:42:00

So you are based at Aubervilliers.

 

00:03:42:00 - 00:03:44:15

Yeah, Aubervilliers, in the north of Paris.

 

00:03:45:08 - 00:03:46:16

Lovely place to be.

 

00:03:47:07 - 00:03:48:16

It's a beautiful place to be, fabulous.

 

00:03:48:16 - 00:03:51:00

Danny, can you beat working in Paris?

 

00:03:51:00 - 00:03:53:09

Where are you? And what's your job role?

 

00:03:54:04 - 00:03:54:22

Well, similar.

 

00:03:54:22 - 00:03:57:00

I'm in London, so it's very similar over here.

 

00:03:57:09 - 00:03:59:23

There is King's Cross and Aubervilliers,

 

00:04:00:03 - 00:04:01:21

both in the north of the cities.

 

00:04:01:21 - 00:04:03:15

Beautiful places. Yes.

 

00:04:04:19 - 00:04:07:20

So I'm the sales manager for Plastic and glass here in Veolia.

 

00:04:07:20 - 00:04:10:22

So in a nutshell, it's ensuring the circular economy

 

00:04:10:23 - 00:04:13:11

for all the plastic and glass we collect here in the UK.

 

00:04:14:19 - 00:04:15:22

Fabulous, great.

 

00:04:15:22 - 00:04:18:02

Well, we're getting quite a lot of people joining us.

 

00:04:18:02 - 00:04:20:04

What I will say, people you don't have to have a pen and paper.

 

00:04:20:04 - 00:04:20:23

You don't have to type.

 

00:04:20:23 - 00:04:21:16

If there's anything

 

00:04:21:16 - 00:04:24:02

that we think is linkable, we'll put it into the comments.

 

00:04:24:18 - 00:04:25:21

You're welcome to ask questions.

 

00:04:25:21 - 00:04:29:18

If we have time, we will try and find time to ask your questions

 

00:04:29:18 - 00:04:31:14

and answer those we can.

 

00:04:31:14 - 00:04:35:01

But I want to start by getting straight to controversy.

 

00:04:35:16 - 00:04:39:00

Benoit, my friend.

 

00:04:39:00 - 00:04:42:03

It's getting a bit noisy in the news about

 

00:04:44:02 - 00:04:45:04

the calls in the UK

 

00:04:45:04 - 00:04:47:22

for a ban on exporting all plastics.

 

00:04:48:15 - 00:04:49:15

What do you think about that?

 

00:04:49:15 - 00:04:51:09

Is that a good idea or a bad idea?

 

00:04:52:18 - 00:04:54:18

Well, first, it's

 

00:04:55:07 - 00:04:58:20

never a good idea to see waste moving around the world.

 

00:05:00:06 - 00:05:02:07

There has been so many abuse

 

00:05:02:15 - 00:05:05:16

in the past and adverse effect

 

00:05:05:16 - 00:05:09:11

that it's good to have regulation and a strict

 

00:05:09:15 - 00:05:13:22

commitment of all the stakeholders.

 

00:05:13:22 - 00:05:18:19

It's definitely good not to see mixed waste or poorly sorted waste

 

00:05:19:13 - 00:05:22:13

moving from one country to the other.

 

00:05:22:14 - 00:05:24:18

or from one continent with the other.

 

00:05:24:18 - 00:05:25:23

on the other side, definitely.

 

00:05:25:23 - 00:05:30:11

If we want a real circularity, we need the right level

 

00:05:30:11 - 00:05:34:12

of classifications, the right level of specialisation of each plants.

 

00:05:35:04 - 00:05:40:06

And for that, I'm convinced that we have to sync circularity

 

00:05:40:06 - 00:05:43:20

more at multi-country or continent level

 

00:05:44:02 - 00:05:47:04

than just at a country level.

 

00:05:47:04 - 00:05:51:18

So whatever can be done locally shall be done locally, definitely.

 

00:05:52:05 - 00:05:56:00

But there shall be some room for under control

 

00:05:56:00 - 00:05:58:23

exports and move of

 

00:05:59:10 - 00:06:03:06

plastic streams of plastic waste stream when they are sorted.

 

00:06:04:08 - 00:06:05:01

Excellent.

 

00:06:05:01 - 00:06:06:18

Danny, what about your feelings?

 

00:06:06:18 - 00:06:08:21

Are you going to side with Benoit or are you going to take

 

00:06:09:12 - 00:06:11:15

a different position? What do you think?

 

00:06:11:15 - 00:06:12:00

Well, no.

 

00:06:12:00 - 00:06:14:15

So I mean, I'll echo a lot of Benoit said

 

00:06:15:03 - 00:06:17:06

and to be clear, there's already strict

 

00:06:17:16 - 00:06:20:22

restrictions in place when you're looking at exporting plastic.

 

00:06:20:23 - 00:06:24:07

So this ensures that there is high quality standards

 

00:06:24:15 - 00:06:27:00

and the recycling facilities are fully compliant.

 

00:06:27:21 - 00:06:30:03

But as we expand

 

00:06:30:03 - 00:06:33:06

and prioritise the recycling capabilities in the UK,

 

00:06:33:15 - 00:06:38:06

you know, relationships with recycling facilities in the EU will be vital

 

00:06:38:13 - 00:06:43:00

to help us accelerate the circular economy and what we could also ask is

 

00:06:43:02 - 00:06:47:06

how are we going to collect and recycle more material?

 

00:06:47:06 - 00:06:50:15

Let's not restrict the facilities, let's concentrate on recycling more.

 

00:06:51:06 - 00:06:54:22

So then we can also provide much needed materials

 

00:06:54:22 - 00:06:59:00

for us to then invest in the UK infrastructure to recycle those also.

 

00:07:00:15 - 00:07:01:00

Thanks.

 

00:07:01:00 - 00:07:04:20

I think it's a great balanced argument from both of you.

 

00:07:04:20 - 00:07:08:04

It to me appears to be sort of self

 

00:07:08:10 - 00:07:11:02

to take a decision.

 

00:07:11:10 - 00:07:15:17

That isn't about the global economics, and isn't about the environment,

 

00:07:15:23 - 00:07:19:15

sustainability and Ecological Transformation has to win out here.

 

00:07:20:01 - 00:07:22:06

And Danny, you make some good points, as do you.

 

00:07:22:06 - 00:07:25:19

Benoit, what about the limitations if you don't allow

 

00:07:26:04 - 00:07:29:06

strictly controlled export of materials?

 

00:07:29:10 - 00:07:32:04

Because that's what it is. It's a material.

 

00:07:32:04 - 00:07:35:05

I'm talking of the importance of global connections

 

00:07:35:05 - 00:07:38:16

then, when it comes to dealing with plastic responsibly.

 

00:07:39:01 - 00:07:44:01

Benoit, how exactly does a global network of facilities and expertise help?

 

00:07:44:09 - 00:07:45:12

Why is that important?

 

00:07:45:12 - 00:07:48:18

How does it support a circular economy?

 

00:07:48:18 - 00:07:49:16

Oh yeah.

 

00:07:49:16 - 00:07:52:01

So having having a network of

 

00:07:52:21 - 00:07:57:09

of plants, a network of expert expertise really applies

 

00:07:58:09 - 00:08:01:18

to be well positioned and to serve our clients,

 

00:08:01:18 - 00:08:04:24

who serves the circularity? Definitely.

 

00:08:05:09 - 00:08:10:10

It allows to combine a lot of different experience, experience on feedstocks,

 

00:08:10:11 - 00:08:14:23

experience on application, experience and compounding, experience and treatment.

 

00:08:15:08 - 00:08:18:18

You combine the expertise of people, the history of,

 

00:08:19:02 - 00:08:23:06

of people and, and companies,

 

00:08:23:16 - 00:08:26:07

and you get as close as possible

 

00:08:26:07 - 00:08:30:17

to what the market deserve, which is really to use

 

00:08:30:21 - 00:08:34:23

circular raising that are really matching the needs of,

 

00:08:35:06 - 00:08:38:02

of the application.

 

00:08:38:02 - 00:08:40:11

Definitely with having

 

00:08:40:11 - 00:08:44:01

a wide variety of expertise.

 

00:08:44:19 - 00:08:49:13

We can solve the challenge of each industry more easily.

 

00:08:49:19 - 00:08:53:06

We can replicate from one plant to the other, from one country

 

00:08:53:06 - 00:08:58:08

to the other, from one customer to the other, being as the age of the

 

00:08:58:19 - 00:09:03:23

of the industry, by being challenged by the leaders of each industry.

 

00:09:04:02 - 00:09:06:12

So that's really is a benefit for the client.

 

00:09:06:12 - 00:09:11:12

It will be easier for him to access the right circular polymer he needs.

 

00:09:11:22 - 00:09:16:11

It will be easier and and quicker to replicate.

 

00:09:16:18 - 00:09:21:11

And it would mitigate the risk of switching from virgin

 

00:09:21:11 - 00:09:24:01

to circular polymers.

 

00:09:24:01 - 00:09:26:09

To really enables isn't it really just Danny

 

00:09:26:10 - 00:09:28:13

you've got anything to add to that all.

 

00:09:28:14 - 00:09:31:04

You know, maybe there'll be an example you can give us in a while.

 

00:09:31:24 - 00:09:35:19

Yeah, but I mean to add to that also it's important to, you know, and trust

 

00:09:35:19 - 00:09:39:03

and with a global brand, you know, our customers can trust our quality

 

00:09:39:13 - 00:09:43:02

so that that's what we can also create with this umbrella branding for

 

00:09:43:02 - 00:09:44:06

all of our facilities.

 

00:09:45:06 - 00:09:45:15

Yeah.

 

00:09:45:15 - 00:09:48:17

Talking about that branding let's, let's name it plastic loop.

 

00:09:49:02 - 00:09:50:15

Fabulous. I love it.

 

00:09:50:15 - 00:09:51:23

It says what it does on the tin

 

00:09:51:23 - 00:09:55:00

as a, as a marketer it makes my heart beat faster.

 

00:09:55:00 - 00:09:57:10

I love it. Brilliant name, brilliant branding.

 

00:09:57:15 - 00:09:59:18

And it was launched worldwide just recently, wasn't it?

 

00:10:01:18 - 00:10:03:02

Talk to me about plastic logo.

 

00:10:03:02 - 00:10:06:19

You know, what are the range of materials that it can do, the polymers

 

00:10:06:20 - 00:10:10:14

you talk about, compounding, etc., and what can be produced?

 

00:10:10:14 - 00:10:11:11

Which industries?

 

00:10:11:11 - 00:10:15:15

Industries are you producing them for and what products have been made?

 

00:10:15:15 - 00:10:16:22

Tell me more.

 

00:10:16:22 - 00:10:17:06

Yeah.

 

00:10:17:06 - 00:10:20:13

So plastic, as you said, has been launched a few weeks ago.

 

00:10:20:22 - 00:10:24:24

It's a brand new name, but it's much more than a name.

 

00:10:24:24 - 00:10:30:06

It's really the combination of the network that we we mentioned previously,

 

00:10:30:16 - 00:10:33:24

combination of the promise, promise of reliability,

 

00:10:33:24 - 00:10:37:14

of quality, of greenhouse gas emission reduction and so on.

 

00:10:38:10 - 00:10:40:19

And it is based

 

00:10:40:19 - 00:10:45:13

on a unique new product range of circular polymers.

 

00:10:47:00 - 00:10:47:23

We have,

 

00:10:47:23 - 00:10:51:07

let's say a combine or more than 300

 

00:10:51:07 - 00:10:56:09

different products around the world, you know, 37 plants recycling

 

00:10:56:09 - 00:10:59:22

plastic combine in a structure, a range of products,

 

00:11:00:10 - 00:11:03:21

definitely application driven and customer focus.

 

00:11:04:04 - 00:11:06:24

We have structured with seven industries.

 

00:11:06:24 - 00:11:12:07

So of course we are serving the packaging industry, the automotive industry.

 

00:11:12:12 - 00:11:16:16

It's a textile industry even to increase that for the filaments

 

00:11:17:09 - 00:11:21:10

we are serving home and appliances applications.

 

00:11:21:23 - 00:11:25:02

You can have an irony or a television

 

00:11:25:02 - 00:11:28:10

or credit card done with recycled plastic.

 

00:11:28:10 - 00:11:29:10

For example.

 

00:11:29:10 - 00:11:31:03

We are serving, of course, building

 

00:11:31:03 - 00:11:35:16

and construction application as well as the agricultural or logistics.

 

00:11:35:16 - 00:11:40:20

So we have this product range as structured by industry is triggered

 

00:11:40:20 - 00:11:43:18

by series, for example, bottle to

 

00:11:44:01 - 00:11:47:01

bumper application.

 

00:11:47:22 - 00:11:52:10

Well, there is a wide variety, but each customer, each client,

 

00:11:52:10 - 00:11:56:13

each converter can find its way to the right product it needs

 

00:11:56:20 - 00:11:58:02

and we will help them

 

00:11:58:02 - 00:12:02:10

to be connected to the right plant and the right expert to service.

 

00:12:02:17 - 00:12:06:21

his need. It's really an example of Ecological Transformation, isn't it?

 

00:12:06:21 - 00:12:09:03

We get asked a lot, what is Ecological Transformation?

 

00:12:09:03 - 00:12:10:10

Well, this is it.

 

00:12:10:10 - 00:12:15:00

We're taking away what used to be from virgin, from fossil fuel

 

00:12:15:07 - 00:12:20:10

based derivative of fossil or oil based products to something else.

 

00:12:20:19 - 00:12:22:06

This is where plastic comes from.

 

00:12:22:06 - 00:12:28:23

We are mining the material from the waste streams and creating brand new products.

 

00:12:28:23 - 00:12:31:20

And it isn't as simple, is it, as, you know,

 

00:12:32:06 - 00:12:34:17

you put the plastic bottle in the bin and your plastic bottles comes back out.

 

00:12:34:17 - 00:12:36:02

There's an awful lot to it.

 

00:12:36:02 - 00:12:40:01

Veolia is changing to this producer and this supplier,

 

00:12:40:18 - 00:12:43:17

something, I'm really proud of the company.

 

00:12:43:24 - 00:12:46:17

And I think it's something you probably feel too. Danny,

 

00:12:46:17 - 00:12:48:09

I'm going to come to you and ask you,

 

00:12:48:09 - 00:12:52:10

you know, this global network, this all these products, this great brand

 

00:12:53:16 - 00:12:56:03

that's helping you in the UK and in what are we doing

 

00:12:56:03 - 00:13:00:10

in the UK to support customers, to access what really is important here?

 

00:13:00:10 - 00:13:04:10

Because what we are producing is, is high quality material.

 

00:13:04:10 - 00:13:06:06

How's it helping? Yes, exactly,

 

00:13:06:06 - 00:13:08:00

so I mean, as Benoit said,

 

00:13:08:00 - 00:13:10:16

we've got, you know, over 37 recycling plants

 

00:13:11:03 - 00:13:14:10

and in the UK we have one that we take milk bottles

 

00:13:15:06 - 00:13:17:24

which we transform into a high quality raw material

 

00:13:18:11 - 00:13:21:00

and this goes into the manufacture of new bottles,

 

00:13:21:04 - 00:13:24:06

but you know, my colleagues in Spain might recycle water bottles,

 

00:13:24:06 - 00:13:26:01

or in the Netherlands, we've recycled butter tubs.

 

00:13:26:01 - 00:13:30:09

So what plastic it does, it kind of brings our large portfolio

 

00:13:30:15 - 00:13:35:00

of all of our recycled materials under one umbrella, and this increases

 

00:13:35:00 - 00:13:39:00

the ease of access for our customers so they can have the access

 

00:13:39:00 - 00:13:44:05

to the recycled plastic and aids them in increasing the inclusion in the products.

 

00:13:44:05 - 00:13:48:02

But, I suppose also for me, working with an organisation

 

00:13:48:02 - 00:13:50:22

like this is, a large network of support.

 

00:13:51:10 - 00:13:54:24

So we can, you know, share learnings and innovation

 

00:13:54:24 - 00:13:57:24

but also share our expertise from across the globe.

 

00:13:58:05 - 00:13:59:14

So it's extremely beneficial.

 

00:14:00:24 - 00:14:01:10

It's crazy.

 

00:14:01:10 - 00:14:04:07

We've got to, you know

 

00:14:04:07 - 00:14:08:18

it's well known now we're half the solutions we need already exist.

 

00:14:09:03 - 00:14:11:08

We've got to find the other half.

 

00:14:11:08 - 00:14:13:01

We've got to find our way forward.

 

00:14:13:01 - 00:14:17:05

And the best way to do that is to bring people together

 

00:14:17:05 - 00:14:19:00

from different scenarios, different learnings.

 

00:14:19:00 - 00:14:20:03

That's an accelerator.

 

00:14:20:03 - 00:14:23:22

I think, again, fabulous to hear that and hear our is impacting.

 

00:14:23:22 - 00:14:26:19

And would you describe then is dairy to dairy?

 

00:14:26:19 - 00:14:28:06

Is that what we're doing there with the bottles?

 

00:14:28:06 - 00:14:30:12

Is it? It's almost yes.

 

00:14:30:12 - 00:14:33:24

Yes. In fact, that's what we've achieved in the UK. Wow.

 

00:14:34:20 - 00:14:37:13

And again, you know, it's not just, you know, that's not a simple

 

00:14:38:11 - 00:14:39:24

it's far easier to say isn't it.

 

00:14:39:24 - 00:14:43:01

But you know, clearly, you know, that's where there's an awful lot of plastic.

 

00:14:43:09 - 00:14:47:18

So going to the right market place and then making that market place circular.

 

00:14:48:21 - 00:14:50:12

You guys, you are the superheroes.

 

00:14:50:12 - 00:14:53:09

I'm amazed you've got the time here to actually talk to me, so

 

00:14:53:16 - 00:14:55:02

thank you for that.

 

00:14:55:02 - 00:14:56:11

Yeah, just taking a call.

 

00:14:56:11 - 00:14:58:17

Yeah.

 

00:14:58:17 - 00:15:00:08

You've got a big P on your shirt

 

00:15:00:08 - 00:15:01:18

for PlastiLoop

 

00:15:01:18 - 00:15:04:05

Yeah. Fabulous. Danny, 

 

00:15:04:18 - 00:15:07:06

I'm going to come to you, though, with

 

00:15:07:06 - 00:15:08:16

The other side of the coin.

 

00:15:08:16 - 00:15:09:19

I'm a business now.

 

00:15:09:19 - 00:15:11:04

I want to recycle.

 

00:15:11:04 - 00:15:13:22

I want to use more recycled plastic.

 

00:15:13:22 - 00:15:16:00

I want to have that in my products.

 

00:15:16:00 - 00:15:17:14

But what were the main challenges

 

00:15:17:14 - 00:15:20:16

when it comes to increasing the amount of recycled plastic?

 

00:15:20:22 - 00:15:23:22

And how does plastic address that?

 

00:15:23:22 - 00:15:27:09

Well, I suppose we can go back to that dairy example.

 

00:15:27:09 - 00:15:29:04

So, I mean, number one challenge

 

00:15:29:04 - 00:15:33:14

is collecting material for recycling, but also the challenge, you know, as a

 

00:15:33:20 - 00:15:37:23

as a dairy industry to source, you know, certified and high quality

 

00:15:37:23 - 00:15:41:01

material to manufacture new food contact packaging.

 

00:15:41:23 - 00:15:43:14

So the regulations are quite sides.

 

00:15:43:14 - 00:15:46:21

But at Dagenham in the UK we met that challenge head on

 

00:15:47:16 - 00:15:51:01

and other Veolia facilities have across the globe also

 

00:15:52:02 - 00:15:52:07

and we

 

00:15:52:07 - 00:15:56:10

have achieved a food grade status for high quality recycled materials.

 

00:15:56:10 - 00:15:59:16

So what that means is our customers can access that

 

00:15:59:16 - 00:16:02:22

to great new packaging and back to the dairy industry.

 

00:16:02:22 - 00:16:06:12

What we've done there is we've actually closed loop on the milk bottle.

 

00:16:06:12 - 00:16:08:10

So we collect the milk bottle,

 

00:16:08:10 - 00:16:11:11

we recycle a milk bottle and then we create a new milk bottle.

 

00:16:11:13 - 00:16:16:07

So that's a fairly closed loop that we've managed to achieve at Dagenham.

 

00:16:16:07 - 00:16:19:22

It's incredible and I know it's hard to believe, you know,

 

00:16:20:05 - 00:16:23:02

with a face like this, but I've been around for quite a while now.

 

00:16:23:15 - 00:16:26:03

And, you know, I remember when we were talking about

 

00:16:26:08 - 00:16:29:20

circular economy and, you know, what would be a circular economy?

 

00:16:29:20 - 00:16:32:05

And now I'm talking to you about one.

 

00:16:32:05 - 00:16:34:08

You know, it's actually there. It's real.

 

00:16:34:08 - 00:16:35:17

And that's just in the 

 

00:16:35:17 - 00:16:38:08

you know, in the short period of time I've been in the industry,

 

00:16:39:15 - 00:16:40:17

I'm sure

 

00:16:40:17 - 00:16:44:24

in in a few years time there'll be so many more examples.

 

00:16:45:00 - 00:16:46:18

Well, what would you add to that question, you know,

 

00:16:46:18 - 00:16:48:14

about the challenges for businesses.

 

00:16:48:14 - 00:16:50:19

Have you got anything else you would say?

 

00:16:50:19 - 00:16:52:12

Oh, yes, so many things.

 

00:16:52:12 - 00:16:55:11

And they first, a really great

 

00:16:55:11 - 00:16:57:15

example, amazing example of

 

00:16:59:00 - 00:17:01:15

group circularity that that needs explaining

 

00:17:01:15 - 00:17:02:23

is the dairy to the average

 

00:17:03:05 - 00:17:04:00

convert.

 

00:17:04:00 - 00:17:09:16

And to achieve that collectively, there is a lot of steps, a lot of bottlenecks.

 

00:17:10:02 - 00:17:14:07

And if you give me 2 minutes, I go around, go for. It.

 

00:17:14:16 - 00:17:17:20

Very interesting topic is definitely Ecodesign

 

00:17:18:03 - 00:17:22:05

designed to recycle I mean that's in the hands of the brands

 

00:17:22:05 - 00:17:27:01

of the converters doing their best to

 

00:17:28:04 - 00:17:30:14

make the products they will put on the market

 

00:17:30:23 - 00:17:34:07

as easy to sort and recycle as possible.

 

00:17:34:07 - 00:17:38:21

That's the first step and nobody will be able to recycle if this step is missed.

 

00:17:39:04 - 00:17:41:23

The second step that again, is also

 

00:17:42:04 - 00:17:44:23

a must have is at the customer side.

 

00:17:45:14 - 00:17:48:23

What would be my gesture when I have a product

 

00:17:49:09 - 00:17:52:00

that at the end of its life

 

00:17:52:00 - 00:17:54:22

I get away, I get rid of it,

 

00:17:55:13 - 00:17:58:23

in which being do I put it at home

 

00:17:58:23 - 00:18:03:09

but also on the way and in any situation that's the second step

 

00:18:03:09 - 00:18:07:23

and that's probably a very key bottleneck today.

 

00:18:08:08 - 00:18:12:04

The third step, of course, is to massively to improve

 

00:18:12:04 - 00:18:16:10

the sorting of commingled recyclable waste.

 

00:18:16:10 - 00:18:18:15

And that's also a big topic in which

 

00:18:18:18 - 00:18:22:17

there are a lot of investment and optimisation to do.

 

00:18:23:22 - 00:18:27:12

The first step is then the recycling,

 

00:18:27:22 - 00:18:33:10

namely speaking step, where we convert those bales of waste of bottles,

 

00:18:33:10 - 00:18:36:18

of trays, of whatever, bumpers or,

 

00:18:36:21 - 00:18:39:24

or toys into valuable products.

 

00:18:40:08 - 00:18:44:12

And there there is a responsibility is to have

 

00:18:45:05 - 00:18:47:08

both a reliability

 

00:18:47:18 - 00:18:49:23

and very good traceability as well,

 

00:18:50:09 - 00:18:54:07

a process leading to a certified quality

 

00:18:54:08 - 00:18:59:06

consistent over time because this is what our clients need and deserve.

 

00:18:59:15 - 00:19:05:01

And in parallel with that is robustness that say we have to

 

00:19:05:15 - 00:19:10:16

develop new grades, new application and really match with

 

00:19:11:02 - 00:19:15:15

with what can be put on the market and where the market is giving that.

 

00:19:15:15 - 00:19:18:20

And for all of that, what is also

 

00:19:18:20 - 00:19:21:20

a must have is to find the right business models,

 

00:19:22:04 - 00:19:27:02

because behind the technique, behind I mean, all what can be achieved

 

00:19:27:02 - 00:19:30:23

technically markets are moving, price are moving.

 

00:19:30:23 - 00:19:33:21

And we have to find a fair way of

 

00:19:34:10 - 00:19:37:20

of business model, I call it sustainable business model.

 

00:19:37:20 - 00:19:43:02

And the industry is finding more and more a good way to deal with that so that each

 

00:19:43:15 - 00:19:46:19

each player is rewarded for the step

 

00:19:46:19 - 00:19:49:18

he's bringing to it to the to the community.

 

00:19:49:24 - 00:19:52:20

And that is really key that the prices are reflecting

 

00:19:53:12 - 00:19:58:04

the reality of the costs of each step.

 

00:19:58:09 - 00:20:02:02

So it's a collective, collective responsibility to increase

 

00:20:02:03 - 00:20:03:20

the recycling rate.

 

00:20:03:20 - 00:20:07:01

Maybe it's like in the in a rugby match in a ring between

 

00:20:07:17 - 00:20:11:24

you guys in England and no more. But

 

00:20:13:01 - 00:20:13:09

I don't.

 

00:20:13:09 - 00:20:16:02

Think we're talking about rugby

 

00:20:16:02 - 00:20:18:14

at the minute

 

00:20:18:14 - 00:20:22:03

The image I would like you to have have you all together going to the try

 

00:20:23:01 - 00:20:25:03

millimetre after millimetre

 

00:20:25:03 - 00:20:27:18

Absolutely, foot by foot, yard by yard.

 

00:20:28:05 - 00:20:31:10

What a strange country we are when we measure eight things in two different ways.

 

00:20:32:04 - 00:20:34:10

Fabulous. Thank you.

 

00:20:34:10 - 00:20:36:21

I don't think anything could personify asking the expert

 

00:20:36:21 - 00:20:40:04

more than the last set of answers I've had from Benoit and Danny.

 

00:20:40:04 - 00:20:42:02

Thank you very much for that.

 

00:20:42:02 - 00:20:46:13

My last question, we're at that point of the year.

 

00:20:46:13 - 00:20:48:07

We've we've talked about Christmas.

 

00:20:48:07 - 00:20:51:17

We need to move past Christmas really quickly and think about next year.

 

00:20:51:17 - 00:20:54:11

What's next for PlastiLoop in 2023?

 

00:20:55:22 - 00:20:58:10

Oh, so PlastiLoop first is a young baby.

 

00:20:58:19 - 00:21:00:13

So we have to grow it,

 

00:21:00:13 - 00:21:02:19

we have to have it alive.

 

00:21:02:19 - 00:21:08:19

So that's great news, we have to grow it to grow the volumes that we we are targeting. So

 

00:21:09:19 - 00:21:10:07

for next

 

00:21:10:07 - 00:21:13:09

year, our target worldwide is to produce

 

00:21:14:06 - 00:21:17:15

610,000 tonnes of super output.

 

00:21:17:24 - 00:21:23:05

Can you imagine like ten and 10,000 tonnes and we'll make it.

 

00:21:23:05 - 00:21:26:11

I can I can tell you so a variety of reasons

 

00:21:26:11 - 00:21:29:15

of course, but will make it

 

00:21:29:15 - 00:21:33:24

so we have to grow the volumes we have to create new grades,

 

00:21:34:07 - 00:21:37:22

we have to catch new feedstock and to generate

 

00:21:37:22 - 00:21:40:23

new streams that will feed the recycling.

 

00:21:41:12 - 00:21:44:16

The recycling industry.

 

00:21:44:16 - 00:21:49:02

We also have to think maybe not only on developed countries,

 

00:21:49:02 - 00:21:53:04

but only on what can happen on developing countries where collection,

 

00:21:53:04 - 00:21:56:21

informal collection is also a very good way

 

00:21:57:04 - 00:22:03:20

not only to recycle, but also to divert in that in those countries, those streams,

 

00:22:03:20 - 00:22:08:24

from going to the to the environment and being a nightmare for the environment.

 

00:22:08:24 - 00:22:12:09

So this is also where I am dreaming

 

00:22:12:09 - 00:22:15:11

that we can keep investing more and more.

 

00:22:15:11 - 00:22:19:00

We have a beautiful plant in Indonesia.

 

00:22:19:07 - 00:22:23:22

I would like all the project to materialise into in the near future.

 

00:22:24:23 - 00:22:26:14

Fabulous, Danny.

 

00:22:26:14 - 00:22:28:01

You've heard Benoit's dream.

 

00:22:28:01 - 00:22:32:20

What's your dream for 2023, for PlastiLoop in the UK?

 

00:22:32:20 - 00:22:36:20

Yes. Well, I mean, it's echoing much of what Benoit said, but it's

 

00:22:37:23 - 00:22:40:13

essentially mirroring our success stories

 

00:22:40:22 - 00:22:41:16

so we can capture

 

00:22:41:16 - 00:22:46:01

more materials, recycle more materials, but also continue to use our scale

 

00:22:46:01 - 00:22:48:06

to bring our circular polymers to our customers.

 

00:22:49:19 - 00:22:51:02

Fabulous.

 

00:22:51:02 - 00:22:53:06

What a moment.

 

00:22:53:06 - 00:22:56:03

Gentlemen, thank you very much for your time today.

 

00:22:56:03 - 00:22:57:18

I enjoyed the conversation.

 

00:22:57:18 - 00:23:02:10

As always, I've learnt more than I thought I would do on these these calls.

 

00:23:03:02 - 00:23:04:03

Thank you.

 

00:23:04:07 - 00:23:07:09

And I'd like to now move to thank everybody

 

00:23:07:09 - 00:23:12:06

who has taken part in one of our ask the experts in this series.

 

00:23:12:20 - 00:23:14:20

It's been

 

00:23:15:05 - 00:23:18:23

something that we are very proud of and I hope that everybody

 

00:23:18:23 - 00:23:23:16

who has watched, rewatched, downloaded the podcasts will enjoy it.

 

00:23:24:16 - 00:23:26:14

I'm sure they'll enjoyed this one.

 

00:23:26:14 - 00:23:29:05

Benoit and Danny, thank you for your time.

 

00:23:29:05 - 00:23:30:15

Thanks, Martyn, and thanks to all of you.

 

00:23:30:15 - 00:23:32:00

It was a pleasure.

 

00:23:32:03 - 00:23:33:13

Thank you.

 

00:23:33:13 - 00:23:36:09

Before we leave, I have several people I need to thank

 

00:23:36:09 - 00:23:37:18

because I have never thanked them

 

00:23:37:18 - 00:23:43:02

once in any of these. These events, these Lives would not be possible

 

00:23:43:02 - 00:23:48:04

without the fabulous, painstaking, nerve wracking help

 

00:23:48:09 - 00:23:52:23

and professionalism of Rachel Harrison, Lydia Rowe,

 

00:23:52:23 - 00:23:55:18

Gigi Cooper and Stef Andrews.

 

00:23:56:18 - 00:23:58:19

If we could have produced the blooper reel,

 

00:23:58:24 - 00:24:02:08

it would be a best watched video on TikTok

 

00:24:02:08 - 00:24:06:06

I am quite sure, and I just want to express my thanks

 

00:24:06:06 - 00:24:11:03

in this arena to Rachel, Lydia, Gigi and Steph.

 

00:24:11:06 - 00:24:12:02

Thank you.

 

00:24:12:02 - 00:24:14:06

Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching.

 

00:24:14:06 - 00:24:16:14

We will be back in 2023. Goodbye.

 

00:24:17:13 - 00:24:19:04

Goodbye