Italian plastics association official visits FOI

Giuseppe Riva, director of PlasticsEurope Italia, an association of Federchimica-Confindustria, and director of the Mediterranean Cluster of Plastics-Europe, which covers Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Turkey, called on the FOI and met administration manager John B. Scicluna.

PlasticsEurope is one of the leading European trade associations, based in Brussels, and is a networked organisation of European and national plastics industry associations representing companies producing over 90% of polymers in Europe.

After introducing PlasticsEurope to Mr Scicluna, Mr Riva explained the main issues affecting plastic manufacturing firms in Europe: the EU directives and regulations continually being introduced; recycling issues brought about by various EU directives, such as those on vehicle end of life, WEEE, etc.; and the public perception that plastic was harming the environment - especially when the alternatives could be harming it even more.

Mr Scicluna gave Mr Riva an outline of the economic activity in Malta and highlighting various issues reported by the FOI members, particularly operating in plastic manufacturing.

He also explained the growing trend of FOI members wishing to form part of sector groups and establishing sectoral affiliate associations within the federation.

The meeting concluded by discussing the possibility of organising an FOI event targeting locally based plastic manufacturing firms, which would explain the main issues the plastics industry was facing and to help heighten the awareness of the local industry of the need for group co-operation and the importance of a concerted effort on a variety of sector-related areas.