Zeki Sarbekir is a person who dedicates his work and life to packaging. Sarbekir, the boss of Sarten Ambalaj, which produces metal packaging in 20 different factories 4 abroad, is also the Minister of the Board of Directors of the Packaging Manufacturers Association (ASD). Sarbekir, who says, “I am golden to be everywhere related to my business throughout my life,” also runs the Ministry of the Turkish-Bulgarian Council. Sarbekir said, “It is not packaging, it pollutes the environment. Plastic is not harmful, it is harmful not to recycle it,” and added that waste imports, which amount to 14 billion dollars per year, should be ended gradually with recycling.
“I say to end the import of waste, they get angry at me. Now I say it again, it should be banned. They say, where can we find it. By recycling it, brother. Let’s choose the way to collect it from our own country first. Let’s do it gradually, too. It was importing waste gradually. It finished in five years. We finished it in five years.” Let’s ban it gradually,” he said.
Akam NewspaperPackaging industry and recycling house with ASD Minister Zeki Sarbekir.
■ Can you tell us about ASD first?
We have 243 baits. We were established in 1992. We try to include packaging consumption and packaging usage. We organize fairs and congresses, design competitions. We will hold a Sustainable Packaging Congress in the fall. 1500-2000 people will come. We organize Eurasia Packaging Fair every year. Geen had a record visit to the fair. We organized a fair where 1100 participants took part and a total of 72,652 professional visits from 122 countries, of which 59,398 were from the country and 13,254 were from abroad. The arrival of more than 13 thousand foreign visits shows the reaching point of the Turkish packaging industry.
■ How did packaging industrialists pass 2022 in exports?
We closed the packaging export with 8 billion dollars. We have a target of 10 billion dollars in 2023, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of our republic. In the 2000s, our 2030 target was 10 billion dollars. We’re catching up early. Because we are right next to Europe in terms of logistics. We meet 10 percent of Europe’s packaging needs. It can sell more by using its logistical advantage. Even Turkey is trying to reach the European market by plane. However, we are at the bottom of Europe. We can reach Germany in two days and France in 4 days by truck. We should know the value of this.
■ How much do you export to Europe?
We send 65 percent of it to Europe. We have always set Europe as our target. We also export to Russia and the Middle East. We are not much in the Far East, but we started in America. Last year, our exports increased by 25 percent in dollar terms. We have grown over Turkey’s exports.
■ How did this art happen?
The pandemic has helped us a little. Once again, people realized how moist the packaging is. Today, many things go into packaging. Also, the form of alm is changing. Now there is e-commerce. In e-commerce, you need to deliver it safely to the end consumer. Without breaking…
■ How is the packaging consumption in the market compared to other countries?
Packaging consumption in Turkey has increased from 150 dollars to 260 dollars in 20 years. Packaging usage is increasing. But we are still below the world average. Europe consumes 400 dollars, America 500, Japan 550-600 dollars a year. I believe that packaging prolongs a person’s life. Even the water we consume stays on the table in a hygienic way in its packaging. There was no such thing a century ago. It came from a stream or a stream, and we couldn’t see what bacteria was in it. Even the smallest packaging is better than no packaging in my opinion. If you look at the products sold on the market with a microscope, you will see creatures walking a lot. That’s why we believe that packaging consumption will increase day by day. It’s already increased. A packaged product is a hygiene product.
■ There is a rising packaging consumption in the world. Well, does this not bring new investments to the agenda? How does the sector invest?
It has a focus on technology investments. When the quality expectation in Europe is high, packaging manufacturers in Turkey also change their printing houses and renew their machinery parks. They put a lot of effort into producing European quality. With us, investments also determine the customer.
■ I have a tendency to hide the price hikes by keeping the price fixed and reducing the packaging. What is grnz about it?
In some periods, it is a practice all over the world to cut down portions and reduce the price so that people can reach the sample, depending on their purchasing power. It is positive on this side, but if there is an exorbitant price event in it, of course, we are all against it.
■ When packaging is mentioned, the relationship with the environment comes to mind immediately…
Packaging does not pollute the environment, humans do. Why can’t we see packaging material on the ground in countries with 3 times the packaging consumption than us? because they are going back. It separates. This issue is about ‘sfr atk’. I think ‘Sfr Atk Project’ is a super project. Everyone needs to hug him with all four hands. He says a lot to the municipalities for recycling. They get angry at me when I say ‘to ban waste imports’. Again, I say that waste imports should be banned gradually. They say, ‘where can we find the wastes to be recycled…’ Brother, let’s collect the wastes in our own country first. was also importing atk. They gradually finished this in five years. We still cannot separate the wastes by recycling in place.
■ Are you saying that you don’t have enough knowledge about on-site recycling of wastes?
It’s hard to change behavior right away. But genes are now more sensitive to the environment. A very old man cannot get rid of his habits. That’s why we train the genes. As ASD, we distributed 1 million books to schools. We give seminars, we spread this awareness. Because they will be the greats of the future. Only in this way can we create this consciousness from today.
PACKAGING IS SINGLE-LAYER AND TRANSPARENT
■ Are there new trends in packaging in the world?
Products made using less raw materials are available. Over the years, we reduce the weight of the packages with technology and design. Now, non-recyclable multi-layer composite packaging is avoided. That’s the trend. Even the European color is removed, it says to be completely transparent. Because it can be returned more easily. We also need to act in accordance with the sustainability of this world. Whichever meeting you attend in the world today, they start with sustainability and end the conversation with a ‘green agreement’. Currently, this is not talked about in Turkey, but companies that do not produce green energy, which do not have a carbon footprint and do not reduce their carbon footprint, will have difficulty in exporting. Next comes a carbon tax. Turkey is a wonderful country and has a wonderful location. We are on the side of Europe. In nk logistics, we create less carbon in transportation. I use this. We can sell our goods with less carbon. This awareness must enter everyone’s head now. No more than that. There was ISO 9000 for a time. Those who could not obtain ISO 9000 certificate could not export. Everyone is deceived. Those who do not reduce carbon emissions will not be able to export. We are constantly informing our sector about this issue to our members.
DNYA 1’NCS IN TRK GENC DESIGN
■ You have been organizing packaging design competitions for years. What is the participation status in this year’s competitions?
We are making two halves. Packaging Design National Student Competition, one of which is for students. ‘Packaging Moon Stars.’ This year, 17 projects that ranked in the 18th edition of the Packaging Design National Student Competition held in 2022, participate in the WorldStar Student, which is organized every year by the World Packaging Organization (WPO). In this competition, Zeynep zel, a student of Istanbul Medipol University Industrial Design Department, won the golden award with her design as the world’s first. The number of designs that received language from Turkey was 16 in total. A proud arrival. dl will be awarded on May 4th. On the other hand, we organize the Packaging Crescent and Stars competition, which is friendly to manufacturers, every two years. We send the winning products to the Dnya Ambalaj org’s competition.
THE COVER WILL NOT HAVE A PROBLEM
■ Gemite had a jar cap problem. what’s the situation now on the production side?
Our capacity for one term was not enough. There was no manufacturer in the market. We became a tabloid news for 10 days or so, where the cover could not be found. This is something that will happen once every 20 years. nothing at the moment. Now go see chain markets, there are plenty of covers. There are currently 2 billion cover productions in Turkey. Only 1 billion of them go abroad. 200 million units are used in homes. The rest is consumed by fillers.