Looking back on the year's top stories for the plastics industry/Trade wars and tight raw materials supply/Marine litter and recycling/Record-breaking weather/Digitalisation and the automotive downturn

摘要

Another fascinating year for European plastics is coming to an end.PIE readers will be familiar with them all - the KI Group has gathered together those topics in a review of the past 12 months.The world witnessed the onset of trade wars,which escalated and are set to continue.With the dry,hot summer that Europe experienced in 2018,the depth of the Rhine river shrank so much that shipping restrictions had severe impacts for many.The increasing scarcity of raw materials in the polyamide 6.6 chain is not yet over,and suppliers everywhere are feeling the effects.Single-use plastics were heavily discussed this year,showing up as litter on beaches and in waters,and were a cause for frenzied activity at the European Commission,throughout Western Europe and especially in France - leading to bans,additional taxes and even voluntary industry commitments.