As part of our Green Opportunity project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme, in early October we held another workshop to exchange good practices in beautiful Zagreb, Croatia! We were joined by incredible partners from Bulgaria (Association “Get Involved”), Greece (Liofyllo) and Croatia (More Coaching).

 

This meeting was dedicated to EU practices and requirements for textile sustainability. During the meeting, we engaged in discussions on water pollutants and how to effectively address them, as well as an overview of EU regulations for a cleaner future.

 

During the event, BAP participants met with representatives of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Zagreb.

 

But we did not stop there! On the last day, our team rolled up their sleeves and took action, cleaning up the Sava River together!

 

A huge thank you to everyone involved for their hard work and dedication! Together we are making a difference!

At the beginning of July, we held a workshop as part of the “Green Opportunity” project, co-financed by the Erasmus+ program. The meeting was attended by partners from Bulgaria – the Branch Association Polymers and the association “Get Involved” from Greece – Liofyllo, and from Croatia – More Coaching, as well as youth workers and volunteers.

 

The main goal of the workshop was for each country to share good practices related to the circular economy. The partners presented interesting and innovative practices, initiatives, and enterprises that promote sustainability and green thinking.

 

Together, we visited the interactive educational center for the separate collection of packaging waste by ECOPACK Bulgaria. The center’s aim is to educate children and young people about the benefits of waste separation and recycling, as well as the importance of this activity for protecting the environment from contemporary threats.

 

The center is part of a complex that houses ECOPACK Bulgaria’s most modern facility, specialized in sorting packaging waste made of paper, plastic, and aluminum, which we also explored with great interest.

The newest line, which was put into operation in early April, is worth 1.5m euros and is the last part of an investment launched last year. The line is currently in test mode and production is expected to start at full speed in a few weeks.

 

This is the largest production line of Extrapack. It is assembled entirely by the company’s team, with components from China, Germany and Ireland, while the structure is manufactured in Bulgaria. The line will produce nonwoven textiles for medical and hygienic products, furniture production, interior textiles, etc.

 

With the new machine, the company already has three lines for spunbond textiles. In addition, last year two lines were installed for meltblown textiles, which are mainly used for filtering devices (masks, filters for clean rooms, etc.). All of them are located in the third plant of the company near Veliko Tarnovo.

 

The introduction of the new production lines allows Extrapack to contribute to the fight against the COVID pandemic, in which non-woven products – protective clothing, masks, socks and filters – are extremely important.

 

Another reason for the investment is the shift of supply chains from China to Europe and the increased demand for products and raw materials produced in the EU. Non-woven products are mainly exported to Eastern Europe, Italy, Turkey and the former Yugoslav republics.

 

Despite the uncertainty at the beginning of the pandemic, Extrapack managed to adjust to the new realities in a short time and according to preliminary data expects about 20% higher turnover for 2020.

 

Last year, there was also a big increase in the demand for recycled polyethylene packaging for courier services, and the company launched new paper envelopes for shipments.

 

Currently, Extrapack is preparing to build the next, fourth, plant specifically for paper bags. It will be located next to the third plant, and the purchase of the land is currently being completed. The new factory is expected to be operational in about two years.

We are excited to share the success of our first international meeting for the “Green Opportunity” project, held on June 3-4, 2024, in Patras, Greece!

 

The small-scale partnership project KA2 2023-3-BG01-KA210-YOU-000180593 “Green Opportunity,” funded by the Erasmus+ program, is dedicated to educating young people about the environmental benefits of the circular economy. We aim to inspire and promote a new way of thinking about production and consumption that integrates natural ecosystems into our daily lives, businesses, and waste-reduction efforts.

 

Our inaugural meeting brought together passionate individuals from Bulgaria (Branch Association Polymers and Get Involved), Croatia (More Coaching), and Greece (Liofyllo), united by the shared goal of creating a sustainable future. The project focuses on developing engaging and educational animated videos and tools about the circular economy, distributing them through social media and video platforms, and launching social media challenges with unique hashtags to encourage active participation and responsibility among young people.

 

The discussions and activities during these two days laid a solid foundation for our mission to combat the negative environmental impacts of the current “take-use-dispose” economy. We are thrilled to empower young people with practical tools and techniques to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle and contribute to the circular economy.

 

This project will foster a sense of initiative and active citizenship among young people while encouraging creative learning, intercultural dialogue, and the joy of diversity. With participants from three different countries and cultures, we are united in our mission to create a greener and more sustainable world.

 

A heartfelt thank you to our wonderful partners and hosts from Liofyllo, who showed us incredible hospitality in the enchanting city of Patras, rich in both ancient and modern charm!

 

Stay tuned for more updates and join us on this exciting journey toward a more sustainable future!

The Polymers for Europe Alliance was set up by the European Plastics Converters association (EuPC) in 2015 due to the shortage of polymers for converters in Europe. Its objective is to build and maintain good communications between suppliers and customers of polymers and additives in Europe following the catastrophic situation during the first semester of 2015.

 

The monitoring of Force Majeure declarations globally of polymer producers by the Alliance showed an alarming increase in issued declarations by numerous polymer producers towards the end of 2020. Especially the supply situation for Polyolefins and PVC worsened significantly, making it difficult for converting companies to get the necessary material to keep their production running.

 

“The increased declarations of Force Majeure and rapid producer margin improvement resembles the situation at the beginning of the Force Majeure crisis in 2015.” Says Ron Marsh, Chairman of the Polymers for Europe Alliance. “We will continue to monitor the developments very closely to ensure the interests of the plastics converting industry are heard and to try to avoid a second 2015.”

 

With some polymer supplies getting very tight, plastics converters have difficulties to purchase the needed raw materials at reasonable prices and passing on the large price increases to their customers. Sandwiched between big polymer suppliers and users of plastics, the many SMEs that form the plastics converting industry remain in a difficult position to recover these price spikes.

Project Name: “Green Opportunity”

Project Number: 2021-2-BG01-KA210-YOU-000049427

Project Start Date: January 4, 2024

Project End Date: June 30, 2025

Project Duration: 15 months

 

Project Genesis and Partnerships

This project is a collaborative effort among esteemed partners: the Branch Association Polymers and Get Involved Association from Bulgaria, Udruga za savjetovanje MORE COACHING from Croatia, and Liofyllo Social Cooperative Enterprise from Greece.

 

Goals and Objectives

The “Green Opportunities – Re-design the Future” project seeks to showcase the environmental benefits of adopting circular economy principles. By redefining paradigms of production and consumption, the project aims to integrate natural ecosystems into daily life, businesses, and communities while reducing waste. Through the creation of engaging animated videos and a comprehensive toolkit for the circular economy, the project aspires to inspire young people to take action, promoting a transition away from the linear economy model of “take-make-dispose.”

 

Target Groups

The project is aimed at a diverse range of stakeholders committed to sustainability:

– Community leaders, volunteers, youth workers, trainers, and teachers

– Young people eager to support environmental initiatives

– NGOs promoting non-formal and informal learning

– Young individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those facing socio-economic challenges

– Civic organizations and local authorities advocating for environmental policies

 

Activities and Expected Outcomes

The project will unfold through a series of impactful activities in the partner countries:

 

Kick-off transnational project meeting (Greece):

Establishing a foundation for effective project management, task planning, communication strategies, risk management, and quality evaluation.

 

Exchange of good practices workshops (Sofia, Bulgaria):

Facilitating the sharing of ideas and good practices to promote circular economy principles. Participants will enhance their skills in engaging and empowering young people toward sustainability.

 

Workshop and River Cleanup (Zagreb, Croatia):

Learning sessions focused on preserving rivers and oceans from plastic pollution. Participants will experience tangible results through cleanup efforts.

 

Local multiplier events:

Organizing events in partner countries to raise awareness about circular economy principles and disseminate project outcomes among NGOs and civil society organizations.

 

Preparation of tangible deliverables – Educational Videos on Circular Economy:

Producing 10 educational videos on the circular economy designed to engage and educate a broad audience on social media platforms.

 

Final transnational project meeting (Bulgaria):

Evaluating project implementation, dissemination activities, and preparing the necessary documentation for the final report.

 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

Branch Association Polymers is Leading Partner of the “Green Opportunity – Re-design the Future” Project

 

Funded by the ERASMUS+ program, the project aims to promote the principles of the circular economy.

 

Kickoff Meeting

 

On April 22, 2024, we held our first call with project partners: Get Involved from Bulgaria, More Coaching from Croatia, and Liofyllo Social Cooperative Enterprise from Greece, marking the beginning of this exciting journey.

 

Together, we are on a mission to educate young people about the advantages of the circular economy and inspire them to take sustainable actions. Stay tuned for updates as we roll out engaging animated videos, tools, and social media challenges to drive change!

 

Project Overview

 

The “Green Opportunity – Re-design the Future” project seeks to highlight the environmental benefits of adopting circular economy principles among young people. By raising awareness and fostering action, we aim to shift production and consumption paradigms, intertwining natural ecosystems with our daily lives and businesses, while minimizing waste.

 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The petrochemical company Lukoil is building a new plant for polypropylene (PP) in Burgas, Bulgaria.

 

The company has acquired a license for a production line “Novolen” with a capacity of 280,000 tons / year from the American company Lummus, Texas (www.lummustechnology.com).

 

The contract also includes the technical design planning, training and services as well as a supply deal for catalysts, including metallocene types.

 

Lukoil already has a PP production line with a capacity of 80,000 t / y in Burgas.

 

The group also has another PP production facility in its Russian “Stavrolen” complex in the city of Budyonnovsk, which has a capacity of 120,000 tons / year.

 

Source: www.plasteurope.com 

According to PlasticsEurope, the EU countries produce 58 million tonnes of plastic each year, about half of which becomes waste. Each year 25 million tonnes of plastic waste are dumped in Europe and only 30% of it is recycled, 39% is incinerated and 30% is landfilled. On January 16, 2018, the European Commission adopted the “European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy “, which is part of the transition to the sustainable use of resources.

 

In an effort to contribute to achieving Strategy goals, the Bulgarian company Askania Casting Ltd. developed and implemented a pilot project – resource efficient and innovative technological line for production of plastic parts for fans, which aims to prevent the formation of plastic waste in the existing production of the company, thus contributing to the sustainable development of the Bulgarian and European economy. The implementation of the new technology is a major change in the whole production process. At the heart of the innovative production line is a device for detecting and controlling changes in the properties of the material during the injection molding process, which is patented with two patents – Patent № US 9,475,226 B2 / 25.10.2016 and Patent № US 9 481 119 B2 / 01.11.-2016.

 

In order to ensure the optimal functioning of the device, all stages and units of production have been modernized. After purchasing a new injection molding machine with the relevant technical and functional characteristics, an iMFLUX device has been installed on it, as well as injection molds of a new type – with a hot nozzle, which allow the correct operation of the device and achieve optimal results in production, not only in terms of achieving a lack of plastic scrap, but also in terms of improving the quality of injection-molded plastic parts. The use of the injection molds with a hot nozzle leads to the absence of a funnel, and results to saving of plastic material and minimum produced defect details.

 

Additionally the plastic that solidifies in the injection molding machine when changing a tool /injection mold/,during the initial start-up or after a stop for changing of the material, is of good quality due to temperature control of the melt. Therefore, after grinding with a plastic grinder, the parts can be used again after mixing with virgin material. This leads to full use of the raw plastic material and the absence of production waste and significantly increases the resource efficiency of the manufacturing process. The introduction of the new technology also leads to a significant reduction in the use of freshwater. The implemented technological solution is a production (process) innovation. In practice, the innovation is the set of high-tech injection molding machine on which the patented iMFLUX device is mounted to detect and control changes in the properties of the material during the injection molding process.

 

iMFLUX helps to improve the process parameters as the melt enters the injection mold – allowing for quick filling of the mold and subsequent uniform holding pressure, which leads to higher part quality and material savings. This is the result of the physical measurement and active control of the pressure and temperature of the melt that enters the injection mold, which provides real-time material feedback and the opportunity to control the melt within milliseconds. The new technology provides unprecedented advantages for injection molding machine control, and can integrate and simplify the product design and the production processes based on the recommended pressure limits for injection molding, packaging, retention and optimization of temperature ranges and to save material without lessening the technological and functional characteristics of the product.

 

• How does iMFLUX improve the injection molding process

 

With iMFLUX, the injection molding process is closed with absolute uniformity – cycle by cycle. The low constant pressure during the process removes some irreversible processes from conventional injection molding. The design of the part and the mold guide the iMFLUX at what speed to fill the socket in order to maintain the filling pressure. For tools with many sockets – constant pressure is distributed to all parts. Each socket from the first cycle to the last will be filled with the same pressure and will produce the same quality parts.

 

Advantages:

• Lower injection pressure
• A smaller machine can be used for the same product
• Faster cycles
• Improved quality the final product
• Better CPX index (statistical index for the capabilities of a process within certain limits)
• Improved OEE index (overall equipment efficiency)
• Less operator intervention
• Automatic adjustment when changing the viscosity and other injection molding conditions
• Less scrap
• Less need for maintenance

iMFLUX can compensate for variations in the matrix-machine interaction process, but also the way material is fed. The same volume of production will be manufactured for less time, with lower levels of energy consumption.

On October 7, 2020, a conference of companies representatives of the the Polymer industry was held to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of BAP.

 

The event began with a presentation by Mr. Anton Peychev, Senior Expert in the Directorate “Waste Management and Soil Protection” in the MOEW on “Responsibilities and challenges for plastic processors related to the forthcoming changes in national legislation with a view to transposing Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament on reducing the impact of the single use plastic products, as well as waste management in connection with the circular economy and EP Directive 2018/852 on packaging and packaging waste.

 

In his presentation, Mr. Peychev acquainted the guests of the event with the main steps and time stages through which the process of transposition of the EU Directives will pass.

 

Mr. Peychev answered the questions of the participants regarding the changes in the national legislation and called on the members of the association, as representatives of the Polymers industry in Bulgaria, to send their opinions and questions to the MOEW so that the considerations and ideas of the business to be taken into account in the preparation of the new legislation, which is to be adopted during the transposition of the two directives in Bulgaria.