Turkish Plastic Industrialists’ Association (PAGDER) held the closing meeting of the Made It Eco-Friendly project which is implemented in collaboration with the Slovenian Plastic Cluster GIZ-Grozd Plasttehnika, in İstanbul with the participation of actors from the sector. At the meeting, examples of innovative, environment-friendly and energy-efficient products and production processes in the plastics industry were presented and information was given about the project.

During his speech at the closing meeting, Selçuk Gülsün, Deputy Chairman of PAGDER emphasized that strong bonds and advanced cooperation between the plastics industries of Turkey and the EU member states were established during the project. Gülsün stated that the entire world was doing research to use plastic, which was an engineering product, more effectively and added that concrete steps had been taken with the project for the plastics sector in Turkey to enter the international arena.

Plastics are substituted for materials from metal to steel, from wood to glass

Prof. Dr. Nurseli Uyanık, PAGDER Honorary Member and instructor at the İstanbul Technical University, emphasized the importance of the plastics’ contribution to our lives and stated that it was used in place of a wide range of materials, from metal to steel and from wood to glass. The speakers emphasized that the plastic was an eco-friendly material and it showed an incredible level of improvement in the last 60-70 years.

The project which was launched with the idea of strengthening PAGDER’s relations with the institutions operating in the plastic sector in the EU countries and playing a leading role in ensuring the necessary technological transformation of the industry, also aimed to raise awareness and consciousness on energy efficiency and the environment in SMEs.

Within the scope of the Made It Eco-Friendly project, four fairs were attended and the current status of the industry was analysed following a questionnaire conducted with 174 members. Visits were paid to fourteen firms, one research institute, two industrial clusters and one chamber of industry, pioneering innovative and environmentally-friendly production technologies in Slovenian plastics industry

As a result of the project activities, preliminary activities for the transfer of best practices in EU countries to Turkey and the transformation of Turkish firms into much more energy efficient ones was initiated. Moreover, this action paved the way for the dissemination of environmentally-friendly products.

For more detailed information on the project, you can visit www.cevreciplastikler.com.