May 27, 2026
Earlier this year, matterr officially joined Plastics Europe, one of Europe’s leading trade associations, representing the plastics industry across the entire the value chain.
The organisation works closely with stakeholders to address the challenge of plastic waste, advance reuse, collection and recycling to accelerate the transition toward a circular economy. Its ambitions support the European Green Deal and the Paris Climate Agreement, with the shared goal of achieving climate neutrality in Europe.
By joining Plastics Europe, matterr aims to contribute to strengthening Germany and Europe as leading industrial locations for circular technologies and to support the development of innovative solutions for the chemicals and plastics industries.
At the invitation of Plastics Europe, CEO Melanie Hackler participated in a panel discussion at the Circular Valley Convention in Düsseldorf. The convention brought together stakeholders from business, science and politics to discuss the future of circular economy and industrial transformation in Europe.
During the panel discussion “Germany as an Industrial Power - Ideas for a Strong Location Using the Plastics Industry as an Example”, moderated by Christine Bunte, CEO of Plastics Europe, Melanie Hackler joined Prof. Dr. Ing Manfred Renner (Fraunhofer Umsicht), Dr. Regina Weber (IGBCE) and Christian Hündgen (Hündgen Entsorgungs GmbH & Co. KG), to discuss the challenges and opportunities of advancing circular economy solutions in Germany.
The discussion highlighted that circular economy is increasingly being recognised not only as a sustainability objective, but also as a driver of industrial resilience, strategic independence, and long-term competitiveness.
While many of the required technologies already exist, scaling them remains challenging due to regulatory complexity and economic conditions. Participants also emphasised that advancing circularity requires strong ecosystems, collaboration across the value chain, systems thinking, and enabling regulatory frameworks that support industrial implementation.
