SBPE: Major impact on the plastics industry from increasing energy costs

The production of products from the increase in energy costs in recent years is significantly affected, according to the Association of Plastic Industries in Greece. Among the problems caused by the increase in energy costs in the industry are the maintenance of production, the issue of jobs, as well as revenue. Combined changes in the regulatory framework and the necessary transition to a circular economy, operate under pressure for the plastics industry. CORVERSE The SBPE closely monitors the situation in the production of plastic materials and products and notes cases such as the Polisan Hellas plant in Volos. According to recent reports the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) factory is now in a sales process, resulting in 75 workers facing the risk of dismissal. The high costs, the productive problems caused by flooding in Thessaly, competition from markets such as China, led the shareholders to this decision. Polisan Hellas is only one of the examples of businesses struggling to survive under the present circumstances. The effects are not limited to job losses, but are more widely distributed in the economy, as production activity and export capacity are undermined. The SBPE has pointed out these distortions both in the State and in representatives of the European Commission calling for the inclusion of this strategically important sector in energy subsidies, which is not happening until now.