The Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE and Plastics Europe Deutschland have announced a joint event on October 9, 2025 at the K Trade Fair. The “Circular Thursday” will take place as part of the special show Plastics Shape the Future in Hall 6, Stand C40, and will present approaches to achieving a climate-neutral circular economy for plastics. K is the world’s leading trade fair for the plastics and rubber industry. As the second themed day of the K 2025 programme, Circular Thursday will focus entirely on circularity and sustainable innovation.
A Day Dedicated to the Circular Economy
In February 2025, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) entered into force. It aims to reduce packaging waste and promote recycling, for example through new requirements for design for recycling and the mandatory use of recycled content. The regulation is expected to serve as a blueprint for further legislation, for instance in the automotive sector and later also in electronics and construction.
On Circular Thursday, key aspects of a successful circular economy will be discussed:
- What are the recycling potentials in different industries?
- What technologies will be required?
- What conditions are necessary to make recycling competitive?
- What role can alternative raw materials such as biomass or CO₂ play?
These and other questions will be discussed in expert talks with one association representative and two industry representatives on stage – and in dialogue with the audience.
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| Prof. Dr.-Ing. Manfred Renner, Head of Fraunhofer CCPE and Fraunhofer UMSICHT. © Fraunhofer CCPE/Mike Henning |
In the afternoon, a panel will explore the complementarity and future perspectives of mechanical and chemical recycling under current competitive conditions.
The day will be moderated by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Manfred Renner, Director of the Fraunhofer CCPE and Head of the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT. Within the Fraunhofer CCPE, six Fraunhofer institutes pool their expertise to develop, implement and optimise processes, products and technologies up to application and market maturity – working with and for partners from industry and the public sector to shape the transformation towards a circular plastics economy.
“I am convinced that Germany can do the circular economy. The technological foundations are there, now we just need to combine research and application more closely. That is precisely the aim of Circular Thursday,” explains Manfred Renner.
Programme for Circular Thursday
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| Dr. Christine Bunte, Managing Director of Plastics Europe Germany. © Plastics Europe / 2024 – The Tailors Photo |
10:00 – 10:15 | Introduction: Get into the Loop – with Fraunhofer
10:15 – 10:30 | Keynote: Closing the Loops of Different Material Flows
10:30 – 11:00 | Expert Talk: PPWR – Packaging
11:00 – 11:30 | Expert Talk: Textile Recycling
11:30 – 12:00 | Expert Talk: Electronic Waste
12:00 – 12:30 | Expert Talk: Construction Sector
12:30 – 13:30 | Panel Discussion: Driving Circularity under the ELV Directive: Inside the Global Impact Coalition’s Automotive Plastics Circularity Pilot
14:35 – 14:55 | Keynote: Perspectives on Chemical and Mechanical Recycling by Fraunhofer CCPE
14:55 – 15:10 | KI – Kunststoff Information: White Paper Presentation – Recycling: Forecasts, Prices and Profit. The Development of the European Recycling Market up to 2030
15:10 – 15:20 | Keynote by Dr. Christine Bunte
15:20 – 16:30 | Panel Discussion: Perspectives on Chemical and Mechanical Recycling
