Page 30 - Plastics News Issue March 2024

ENVIRONMENT NEWS

Extrusion
Plastics flakes are finally converted into homogenous pellets ready to use in the manufacture of
new products

Chemical recycling

Chemical recycling is a growing approach to recycling
and offers greater opportunity for scalability. Chemical
recycling converts polymeric waste by changing its chemical structure and
turning it back into substances that can be used as raw materials for manufacturing
plastics or other products. Different chemical recycling technologies exist, e.g.
pyrolysis, gasification, hydro-cracking and depolymerisation.
Chemical recycling complements other plastic recycling options like
mechanical, dissolution and organic recycling. Since it can deal with complex
plastic waste streams, like films or laminates, chemical recycling can be used
for plastic waste, which would otherwise result in incineration or landfill. With
67.5% of post-consumer plastic waste going to landfill and energy recovery across Europe, there is a clear potential for
improvement.

Because chemical recycling breaks down polymers into their building blocks, it also allows the production of recycled
plastic (recyclate) with virgin plastic properties that can be used in demanding applications, such as food contact.

The European Commission has set very ambitious circularity objectives for plastics. Regulatory targets of the recently
revised waste directives are 10% max landfilling of municipal waste by 2035, 50% recycling of plastic packaging by 2025
and 55% by 2030. In this context, chemical recycling represents a positive step towards reducing disposed waste and
contributing to a circular economy for plastics. There is also a huge potential for new jobs as the sector develops.
Dissolution recycling
Dissolution recycling is a purification process through which the polymer present
in a mixed plastics waste is selectively dissolved in a solvent, allowing it to be
separated from the waste and recovered in a pure form without changing its
chemical nature.

Organic recycling
Organic recycling is the controlled microbiological treatment of biodegradable
plastic waste under aerobic or anaerobic (composting) conditions (biogasification).
It applies to specific polymers that can be
converted, under the actions of microorganisms, into stabilised organic residues,
carbon dioxide, methane and water.

Why is recycling plastics important?
Plastics recycling is vital in creating a closed loop for sustainable plastics and keeping
discarded waste as a valuable resource instead of sending it to landfills. And with
targets defined by the European Union for mandatory
recycled content innovation and investment are key in
finding better ways to reduce waste and improve recycling efficiency every step of the
way.

Zero plastics to landfill
Using waste as a resource is key to becoming more resource-efficient. At the end of their
service life, plastics are still too valuable to simply be thrown away.
30 PLASTICS NEWS March 2024