Plastic 100 years in Sweden - seminar in Perstorp

At the seminar, speakers from a number of different organizations within the plastic and chemistry industry were represented. Four topics shaped the agenda for the day; the history of plastic, plastic in a visionary perspective, plastic in today’s environmental debate and finally plastic as a design material.

As an introduction to the seminar, Rolf Rahmberg, consultant at Rahmberg Relation AB and previously employee at Perstorp, invited the audience to travel through the history of plastic. Beginning with how the first plastic in Sweden was developed.

Second, with the overall theme: plastic in a visionary perspective, Nazdaneh Yarahmadi, Chalmers University and Research Leader at RISE (The Swedish Research Institute), talked about rethinking the future of plastics and the challenges of doing so. Further, Linda Zellner, Director Innovation Materials and Feed & Food at Perstorp, spoked about the many opportunities bioplastics offers, today and for the future. The session ended with a number of questions from the audience.

Third, the three organizations IVL (Swedish Environmental Research Institute), IKEM (organization for Innovation and Chemical Industries in Sweden) and Hållbar Kemi 2030 (Sustainable Chemistry 2030) presented their take on plastic in today’s environmental debate as well as current initiatives for sustainable plastic and waste management. The session ended with a panel discussion and questions from the audience.

Finally, the author Thomas Lindblad showcased different designs with plastic through the past 100 years. For example, the famous Virrvarr design for tabletops, designed by the Swedish designer and Prince Sigvard Bernadotte for Perstorp.

Though different areas were covered during the day, common views and agreements were also presented. Three views were widely presented: