SPE: A-NZ Newsletter by the President
It is some time since you have received a Newsletter from the President of the Australia-New Zealand Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers.
There is a good reason for this. The Section has taken a great deal of effort in maintaining the technical program and the fact that we have succeeded is a compliment to our Program Chair, Yvonne Mah who, with the help of Neil Whelan, has even commenced with a special series on Microplastics.
In the meantime, the World is changing, particularly in Australia which will now rely on a Labour Government to pay attention to climate change. The chances are that such a new program will result in the industry, in one way or another, paying for the environment. If this occurs, it will affect our plastics industry as it could result in a form of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) or extension of Product Stewardship measures. Any of such measures will change the financial models to which business is accustomed and boost the recovery and the recycling of plastics.
I believe that any change in the status quo will be good for our plastics industry as it will open up new opportunities.
There will also be other changes as a number of associations in our industry will have new leaders in the coming months, now that a remarkable set of very capable women will step down, think Brooke Donnelly of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, Rose Read of the National Waste and Recycling Industry Council, and Sophi MacMillan of the Vinyl Council of Australia.
On the industry front a significant change has occurred with LyondellBasell Australia becoming a part of VIVA Energy. This vertical integration will strengthen the future for polypropylene manufacturing in Australia.
Globally, the unfortunate war by Russia on Ukraine will have many consequences and will affect our lives more and more. Ukraine is a global player in wheat and special metals. The position by China versus Australia will be an area of concern as well as it will continue to affect our supply chains. And let’s not forget COVID-19 and its continued consequences for society.
All the more reason for all of us to continue to put in our best efforts in innovation and making things happen.
Your Section will continue to support all of you in the plastics industry by providing knowledge and education about plastics and polymers Worldwide. A good example will be our One-Day Conference on Plastics and Medical Applications at the ICC in Sydney which will be held on Tuesday 7th June 2022. For more information and registration go to our website: www.plastics.org.au
We hope that many of you will register for this interesting and informative Conference which is in collaboration with the Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Ltd (AMTIL), BioMelbourne Network, Medical and Technology Association of Australia (MTAA) and the Plastics Manufacturers Industry Australia (PIMA).
Han Michel
President
SPE: A-NZ Section Ltd
Mobile: 0416 168 25