Antwerp is the main polymer hub in Europe for production, handling and distribution of plastic pellets. Polymers are the raw materials of which plastic products are made, usually delivered in the form of small pellets. Every year, millions of pellets find their way via Antwerp to other hubs in Europe.
Operation Clean Sweep© is an international programme supported by PlasticsEurope, with the aim of preventing plastic litter materials getting into the marine environment. Antwerp is the first port in Europe to sign up for the programme. In practical terms a “Zero Pellet Loss” consultative platform is being set up in Antwerp to organise measures for keeping the loss of pellets to an absolute minimum.
“The signing of this charter today is the best proof of the great importance attached to this subject in the world of plastics. The fact that all players in the polymer logistics chain are prepared to take part in this programme is key to its success,” declared alderman Marc Van Peel when Signing the Operation Clean Sweep© charter on behalf of the port on the same day as the Antwerp port community presented its fourth Sustainability Report.
