Extrusion International 1-2019

43 Extrusion International 1/2019 Image 4: The un-mixed film-bales are processed into filmflakes in granulators, which are then fed batch wise toMAS DRD dry cleaners where granular soiling andmoisture are removed Ther formance ILLIG.de Image 5: The cleaned and dried filmflakes pass through buffer storage to theMAS cascade extruders (1 = bale shredder, 2 = DRD double rotary disc dry cleaner, 3 = extruder 2 of a cascade extrusion line, 4 = fine filtration, 5 = granulation) business. With the promise of com- pleting his degree at evening school, he was hired in his parents’ company. Since some of his parents’ custom- ers had in addition to cardboard to dispose films, and the youngster was able to offer the related collection service, his business under the name „Daly Plastics“ was well received. For the next 25 years, it remained in collecting plastic films, compact- ing them to bales and selling them. In this context, selling meant gener- ally speaking exporting, especially to China. The export business developed very well, because processing to re- granulates was a welcome new indus- try there. Accordingly, during these 25 years the PRC has become the larg- est recycling center in the world. To take those dimensions into account: In 2016, the PRC imported around 7.3 million tons of plastic waste worth US $ 3.7 billion, which corresponds with 87% of all plastic waste from the EU. (Source: NTV online from 09.01.2018) From the plastic collector to the recycler Asked about the motivation to change the company strategy after 25 successful years as a plastic-waste collection company and exporter, company founder Peter Daalder looks back: “For a long time, like most of our competitors, we simply followed the market. Unrivalled low labor costs in China made recycling in Europe un- economic. On the other hand, our lo- cation near Europe’s most important seaports provided favorable condi- tions for cost-saving transport to Asia. Thus, a large part of the post-consum- er plastic collected by us was export- ed. Doubts about this business model then came up in 2011 when one of our customers decided not to export everything anymore, but to start with an own processing of old agri- cultural films and in this connection carried out processing trials at MAS- Austria. This made us aware of MAS. As a result, one day the opportunity arose to spend an evening with MAS founder founder Helmuth Schulz. We philosophized about the future of the recycling industry. He warned against an unwavering belief in the wage cost advantage in combina- tion with low environmental require- ments. If the next 5-year plan would define changes, the boom would be