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The Week in Germany: Business, Technology and the Environment

January 11, 2008

Professor Awarded Prize for Work with Recycled Plastics

Recyclable, Photo: Colourbox

We use them everyday without even thinking about it - plastics are essential to the convenience of our daily lives, yet they are a major source of toxic pollutants and non-biodegradable waste in landfills. Retired German professor Heinz Breuer was awarded the Plastics Recycling Prize 2007 for his pioneering work with sustainable plastics in helping to reduce the impact of our usage.

Breuer was granted the award on the occasion of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Congress on the future of plastics and the environment by both Fraunhofer and the Beteiligungs- and Kunststoffverwertungsgesellschaft Frankfurt (BKV), which specializes in plastics disposal.

After attending the RWTH Aachen University himself, Breuer worked at the Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) at the university. He later went onto work in industrial plastics manufacturing. He was subsequently appointed professor at the University of Niederrhein where he helped found a Department of Plastics Engineering in 1980. In his career as a professor, Breuer mentored over 200 students in their thesis work.

After serving as chair of the department, Breuer founded the FKuR Plastics and Recycling Research Institute in Willich with his colleague Edmund Dolfen. The Institute focused on research into sustainable plastics engineering and recycling. The Institute published extensive manuals about plastics recycling and a database of plastics products made from recycled materials.

Breuer has also contributed to numerous publications in technical periodicals, has written many specialized books on these themes and has given lectures in Germany and abroad. After retiring from teaching in 2004, Breuer spends his time working as a consultant in the field of biodegradable plastics. As a partner at FKuR he continues to develop the next generation of sustainable plastics. (Young Germany)

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