The inaugural edition of the Plastics Recycling Show Middle East & Africa (PRS ME&A), organised by Media Fusion and Crain Communications, was held at the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from September 5 to 7, 2023. The event marked a significant milestone as it became the first and only exhibition and conference in the region entirely dedicated to plastics recycling. With over 4300 visitors and 100 exhibitors, PRS ME&A demonstrated the growing importance of sustainable practices in the plastics industry.

PRS ME&A provided a platform that connected delegates to the latest information and technological developments in the ever-evolving plastics recycling sector. The event brought together thought leaders, innovators, and technology providers from around the world. The show aimed to showcase cutting-edge solutions, discuss key themes, and explore innovations and trends within the plastics recycling industry. 

The first edition was inaugurated by H.E. Eng. Dawoud Al Hajri, Director General of Dubai Municipality along with Matthew Barber, Sales & Events Director, Crain Communications, and Taher Patrawala, Managing Director, Media Fusion. 

Exhibition highlights

Visitors had the opportunity to explore a wide array of offerings from exhibitors across the plastics recycling spectrum. The event saw a diverse representation from the plastics recycling industry, including suppliers of plastics recycling machinery and equipment, plastic material suppliers and compounders, pre-processors, plastics recyclers, recycling and waste management specialists, regional government representatives, and industry associations.

Companies and organisations operating across the region exhibited at the launch event. They include: Bariq, BritAS Recycling-Anlagen GmbH, C.M.G. Spa, EREMA, FAM Recycling, FIMIC Srl, Krones AG, Magna International Ltd, NGR GmbH, Novelplast Teoranta, OGZ Machine Recycling Systems, Pellenc ST, Polystar Machinery, Rebound Plastic Exchange, Safrique International, Starlinger Co. GmbH, STP Saudi Top Plastic, Tomra Sorting GmbH, Turhan, Veolia and Vecoplan AG.

Running in parallel with the exhibition, the high-level conference featured international experts who addressed crucial topics such as the circular economy, regulations, challenges, opportunities, innovations, technologies, and trends within the plastics recycling sector. 

Conference Highlights

Day 1

The conference, which addressed a wide range of topics across its three-day schedule, was inaugurated by Her Excellency Eng. Othaibah Al Qaydi, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Sustainable Communities Sector, The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. In her keynote address, she stressed the importance of recycling and the urgent need to adopt circular economy strategies. She highlighted the various initiatives taken by the UAE government towards sustainability. They included the ban on single use plastics bags, UAE Circular Packaging Association and various decisions taken by the Circular Economy Policy Committee. 

The first day witnessed panel discussion focusing on the current landscape and possibilities in the plastics recycling market; policy perspectives essential for creating a plastics circular framework; Global trading in a shifting regulatory environment; The state of collection and sorting in MEA; material focus sessions on PET, HDPE and LDPE Recycling. Distinguished speakers included Ton Emans, President of Plastic Recyclers Europe (PRE), Benoit Perreau from Veolia, Rahul Podaar of The Shakti Plastic Industries, Wail Aljaaidi, CEO of Saudi Top Plastic; Monir Bou Ghanem from Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, Johann Conradie, Director of Myplas and Chairman of South African Plastics Recycling Organisation, Shailendra Singh, Founder & CEO of SustainMantra, and Filippo Ghizzoni, Principal at Roland Berger Middle East. Dr. Steve Wong, CEO of Fukutomi and President of China Sustainable Plastics Association, Maryam Al Mansoori, General Manager of Rebound Plastic Exchange, Bashar Ehsan, Managing Director, of Ala International and FAM Recycling; Daker El Rabaya, CEO of Beeah Recycling, Jérôme Viricel, General Manager of RECAPP, Kumayl Al Lawati, Vice President Business Development at be’ah, Samer Kamal, Chief Advisor Sustainability at Averda, Sandip Singh, CEO of Ishitva Robotic Systems, and Richard Davidson, Middle East Director – Waste at Ricardo; Christoph Wöss from Erema, Maheshwar Akkala of Consent FZCO, Praveen Nagrale, Head of Business Development at Srichakra Polyplast, Punit Singhal, Director of J B Ecotex Limited, Amr Sakr, Managing Director of Bariq, and Divya Shah, Senior Editor at Sustainable Chemicals Asia, S&P Global Commodity Insights; and Elie Sandros, Area Sales Manager – ME&A at Tomra. 

Delphine Largeteau, Global Sustainability Consulting Director-Energies & Chemicals at Schneider Electric, gave a presentation on ‘Leverage advanced automation and digital solutions to minimise risk and optimise new plastic recycling technologies.’

Day 2

The day began with a panel discussion on finance and investment, focusing on closing the infrastructure gap to unlock the true value of plastics recycling. Speakers included Keiran Nicholas Smith, CEO of Mr. Green Africa, Mani Vajipey, Co-Founder & CEO of Banyan Nation, Matteo Boffa, Serial Impact Entrepreneur, Vimal Pallipurath, Executive Vice President, Head of Enterprise Risk Management at Mashreq, and Elias Al Akiki, Senior Manager - Sustainability & Infrastructure Practice at Roland Berger Middle East.  This was followed by a panel dicuyssion on chemical Recycling

The second panel discussion focused on chemical recycling and meeting the new demands for recyclable materials. The panel featured experts such as Hussein Soliman, Packaging Technical Application Development & Technology Leader at Dow Chemical IMEA, Dr. Christian Lach, Chief Commercial Officer of Quantafuel, Dr. Vivek Tandon, Founder of revalyu Resources GmbH, Mostafa Khairat, Founder of Environ Egypt & Executive Chairman of Bariq, and Divya Shah, Senior Editor at Sustainable Chemicals Asia, S&P Global Commodity Insights. 

The panel discussion focused on aligning action with strategy to achieve circularity in plastics included Keiran Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Mr. Green Africa, Jeroen Adriaansens, Managing Partner & Trade Director of DGrade Recycling Factory, Dr. Sana Ben Kebaier, Head of Economic Research Department at Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association, Yash Sharma, Director of Ganesha Ecopet, and Shailendra Singh, Founder & CEO of SustainMantra and Environment Committee Member of The All India Plastics Manufacturers' Association. The panel discussed actionable strategies to promote circularity in plastics recycling.

A fireside chat titled "A Deep Dive into Ocean Plastics" explored ambitious commitments and targets to advance circularity in plastics. The chat featured Ahmed El Naggar, Global Business Development Director EMEA at Plastic Bank, and Katelyn Thacker, Chief of Staff at BanQu. 

Presentations: 

Antonino Furfari, Managing Director of Plastics Recyclers Europe, delivered a presentation on RecyClass. Andreas P. Wunsch, Area Sales Manager at hamos GmbH, Harald Hoffmann, Managing Director of Lindner Washtech, and Muhammad Saleemuddin, Regional Sales Manager, MEASA, at FIMIC SRL presented on how innovative technologies are driving advancements in plastics recycling. For the Material Recycling Focus Session on PP,  speakers Rajesh Pahwa, Founder & CEO of 21 Century Polymers, and Vijay Badiani, Director - Export of Pashupati Group, shared insights into the challenges and opportunities in the recycling of polypropylene materials. 

Sustainable Packaging Conference 2023  

The Sustainable Packaging Conference, supported by the UAE Circular Packaging Association, featured insightful discussions on the latest trends and innovations in sustainable packaging. 

The day commenced with a panel discussion on transitioning to circularity in packaging. Speakers included Marcelo Piva, Sustainability Director for Middle East & Africa at Tetra Pak, Mustafa Bater, Senior Director of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs at EME OU, The Coca-Cola Company, Prashant Nath, Director of Packaging Development at Agthia Group, Raghvendra Singh, Head of Regional Marketing at Packaging MEA, Borouge, Bethlehem Yerdaw, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Manager, Waters EMENA, Nestle, and Waseem Jeenah, Head of R&D Personal Care MET at Unilever. The discussion on Sustainable Technologies & Solutions for Packaging included speakers: Hussein Soliman, Packaging Technical Application Development & Technology Leader at Dow Chemical IMEA, Nicola Wagstyl, Sustainability Expert for Middle East & Africa at SIG, Dina Epifanova, Global Sustainability Head at IFFCO, and Kaunain Shahidi, Purchasing Manager (group) at Almarai, also a Technology Editor contributing to Packaging MEA. A fire side chat titled "Reflecting on Paper Packaging Advances and Sustainability" featured Omar Yassin, Regional Portfolio Management – Middle East & Africa at Tetra Pak, and Karen Laird. 

The discussion on innovative food packaging solutions to enhance sustainability and the circular economy features speakers: Monica Battistella, Group Sustainability Manager at Taghleef Industries, Yasmin Fansa, MENA Sustainability Lead for Middle East & North Africa at PepsiCo, Dr. Mike Cheetham, Global Business Development Director at Hotpack Packaging, and Kaunain Shahidi, Purchasing Manager (group) at Almarai and Technology Editor contributing to Packaging MEA. The final panel discussion of the conference explored advancing the circular economy for plastic packaging. Panelists included Antonino Furfari, Managing Director of Plastics Recyclers Europe, Karl Hagspiel, Senior Circular Economy Expert at ALPLA, Priya Sarma, Sustainability HEAD and C&CA Business Partner for Home & Beauty and Well-Being at Unilever Middle East & Turkey, and Dr. Saha, Founder Chairman of the Foundation for Innovative Packaging and Sustainability (FIPS) and Former Director of the Indian Institute of Packaging. 

A presentation titled "Design and Circularity: Innovative and Responsible Design to Achieve Sustainability" was delivered by Dr. Saha. 

The  second edition of Plastics Recycling Show Middle East & Africa (PRS ME&A) will take place at the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 10-12 September 2024.