Those in the plastics industry often don’t come to a trade fair with just one product but a whole series of products. This will certainly be true for Oerlemans Plastics at the upcoming GreenTech in Amsterdam. “We communicate our sustainable innovations through the Re-think plastics concept,” Piet van den Oord previews.
The fair will focus on 5 topics (renew, reduce, reuse, recycle, and redesign) each featuring various products within the greenhouse and outdoor cultivation and horticultural packaging.
Renew (use of new materials)
For this, Oerlemans will bring biodegradable cultivation bags.
Reduce (use of thinner materials while maintaining strength)
Here, the focus in Amsterdam will be on two innovations. On the one hand, a thinner cucumber film of 12 mu. On the other, a top seal film, makes plastic lids unnecessary and replaces them with a film, thus saving many kilograms of plastic.
Re-use (designing a product so it can be used more often and/or for a longer period)
Those who think wisely about plastic products can also make longer use possible, Piet emphasizes. In that category, Oerlemans Plastics includes a 320 kly running film for at least 4-year use and tunnel film for the cultivation of soft fruit. “The foil is for multi-year use and is also a good example of the Re-use idea.”
Re-design (giving a product a different design so it becomes recyclable)
Finally, there are products that you can develop further to make them more recyclable. Here, Piet can show the AC film with holes at the fair, where the film can be joined with strips of the same material. “In this way, staples are no longer needed, making the product more recyclable.”
