The shortlist for the first Plastics Recycling Awards Europe has been published, with the winners to be announced on 25 April. The awards will be part of the Plastics Recycling Show Europe (PRSE), co-organised by Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) and Plastics News Europe publisher Crain Communications.

Mention “ocean debris” and you’ll find that most people react negatively, seeing it as a major problem, and rightfully so, yet more often than not placing the blame squarely on plastics and, by association, the entire plastics industry. But then there are those who not only seek to find solutions to problems, but find it, including forward-thinking companies like brand owner Procter & Gamble (Cincinnati) and recycling specialists TerraCycle (Trenton, NJ) that have successfully turned ocean-, lake- and other water-borne plastic bottles and other discarded plastics into new bottles.

Lighter weight, higher performance and more cost-effective than traditional metal or glass packaging, rigid plastic is seeing innovations that challenge its rivals. Another, Procter & Gamble, teamed with recycling company TerraCycle on its new Fairy Ocean Plastic bottle. Made completely from post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic and ocean plastic, the launch aims to raise awareness of the issue of what can be done to prevent plastic waste from reaching the ocean.

Takeaways from Terracycle, mad scientists of recycling, from 15 years of working with global consumer brands Tom Szaky, the Hungarian-born CEO and founder of TerraCycle, dreams of chewing gum, cigarette butts and ocean plastic. His Trenton, New Jersey-based company aims to accelerate the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, a breakthrough in materials science, energy storage and other technologies, by cleaning up after heaps of waste and inventing inputs for items spurned by ordinary recyclers.

Packaging can earn a wide range of awards and that's all well and good, but there’s a globally known organization, the United Nations (New York City), that’s not usually associated with awards for packaging developments.