Brussels, 20/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - A public hearing on the environmental problems linked PVC will take place on Monday 23 October in Brussels, at the Borschette Centre, on the initiative of the Commission. That Commission wanted to hear all the interested parties express themselves on the Green Paper that it published last July to launch the debate. The 450 participants expected on this occasion - European parliamentarians, members of the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, representatives from Member States, industry, consumers, trade unions and environmental NGOs - will be invited by Commissioners Margot Wallström (Environment) and Erkki Liikanen (Industry) to expressed their point of view on the option, in the Green Paper, in view of elaborating a Community strategy to tackle the problems posed by the use of certain additives in the manufacturing of the most used type of plastic and in the management of the waste it generates in growing amounts (they estimate an increase of 80% for this waste by 2020). The Green Paper consultation process will be closed at the end of November. The Commission proposals are expected for the start of 2001.