Plastics are a versatile material omnipresent in modern life, but by far not sufficiently recirculated after first use. The goal of the EU circular economy action plan, i.e. a recycling quote of plastics packaging of 50% until 2025, remains challenging, for the Western countries and even more for the South/Eastern Danube region that shows severe deficits in waste management systems and a lack of industrial processing knowledge for the recirculation of secondary plastics materials.
The Plan-C project consortium of 14 partners from DE, AT, CZ, SK, HU, RS, BiH, RO, and MD aims to boost the transformation of the plastics value chain in the Danube Region towards circularity through the transnational cooperation of plastics processors/producers and the machine industry. Close cooperation among partners across the Danube Region countries is required to introduce a fundamental change in this complex plastics value chain, implying a radical shift of mindsets, behaviour, and business paradigms. As a result, the main actors in the value chain - plastics producers and machine firms - increase their competitiveness, which contributes to the achievement of the EUSDR PA8 goals.
Based on a transnational technology transfer and utilizing a design thinking process, the PPs + plastics producers co-create and immediately demonstrate circular plastics prototypes. The resulting Circular Plastics Guideline aims at building up knowledge and capacities for its practical implementation in regional companies. The Associated Strategic Partners ASPs together with further involved policy stakeholders ensure the transfer of the related Strategy for enhancing circularity in the plastics industry to RIS3.
Similarly, PPs + machine firms analyze, ideate, and prototype circular solutions for each machine life cycle phase and create related digital business models along the whole machine life cycle, summarized in a Guideline for circularity in the machine industry. The related Strategy for boosting circularity in the machine industry ensures transfer to the RIS3 of the partner countries, with strong support from ASPs.
Both actor groups - PPs and at least 140 enterprises from the plastics + machine industry in the Danube region - are joining forces to develop a vision for a transformed plastics value chain designed for circularity, demonstrating the benefits of reuse/recycling of plastics and maintenance, redistribution, refurbishing/remanufacturing and recycling of machines. The final Transnational Action Plan to anchor circular economy in the holistic plastics value chain addresses SMEs, large enterprises, BSOs, sectoral agencies, and public authorities. At least 70 organizations will increase their capacities to implement circular concepts along the plastics value chain.
