Sustainable Plastics - September/October 2022 - 40

recycling
continued from page 39
schemes for recycled materials
that have served to boost
market transparency and reliability.
Additionally, the objectives
stipulated in the Plastic
Strategy and the Green Deal,
such as making all plastic recyclable
and reusable by 2030,
have resulted in greater interest
and developments in recyclable
packaging solutions which will
positively impact the quality of
recycled polymers.
A good example is the regulation
introduced in 2008,
which set rules for recycled
PET in contact with food. This
regulation made it possible to
establish closed-loop beverage
bottle-to-bottle recycling systems,
and has stimulated the
growth of food contact rPET
derived from beverage bottles
for other applications as well
- an area that has since been
expanding steadily.
Technology - boosting efficiency
via innovation
Innovation and technological
developments have enabled the
industry to achieve high-quality
recycling, leading to the production
of high-end products
based on recycled plastics that
offer almost the same properties
and characteristics as
products produced from virgin
plastics - but with an up to 90%
smaller carbon footprint.
Within a decade, the progress
in technologies like sorting,
washing and extrusion has
been tremendous. The sector
that once was heavily labour
intensive and limited to manual
sorting has become almost
fully automatised. Today
post-consumer recycling is already
established practice with
high qualities available making
high-end applications possible.
Recycling emerged back
in the 1980s with in-house,
post-industrial waste recycling
and soon expanded into the
reprocessing of post-consumer
waste. The technology that was
used at that time did not allow
for the reuse of these recyclates
in the original applications.
However, the technological upgrades
achieved through two
decades of research and innovation
have made high-quality
closed loop recycling possible,
enabling the use of recycled
40
plastics even in food grade applications.
PET,
one of the most widely
used recycled plastics as well
as the most widely recycled one
for food contact applications, is
a good example.
Just 20 years ago, recycled
beverage bottles (PET) were
used mostly to produce fibres
(for strapping or clothing, for
example). In fact, the fibre industry
used to be one of Europe's
major industries. Back
then, the technology for producing
food-grade rPET had
not yet been developed, nor
had the framework been set in
place to regulate its use.
Today, the biggest outlet for
recycled PET bottles is packaging
- in high-value products
like bottles and trays, both of
which can be used for food
contact packaging applications.
Another good example of a
technological breakthrough is
the recycling of flexible plastics
(LDPE). In the past, only commercial
waste was recycled,
producing recyclates that were
used in niche, rather low-end
applications, limiting their life
cycle by allowing for them to be
recycled only once.
Today, flexible packaging
coming directly from households
is recycled back into the
same or similar products and
can be recycled many times
over. Recycled flexible packaging
is used also in the construction
sector to produce, for
example, protective and waterproofing
membranes.
And the bad news is...
Even though Europe has one
of the most advanced legislations
on plastic waste, challenges
persist. One of the biggest
bottlenecks that needs
to be addressed relates to the
low volumes of collected and
sorted plastic waste, which, in
turn, are hampering the attainment
of the EU targets. Today,
only 30 million tonnes of plastic
waste in Europe are collected
for recycling, while converter
demand currently stands at 50
million tonnes. It goes without
saying that improving the collection
infrastructure is a must.
This includes building new
systems based on best practices,
extending the collection
September/October 2022
of plastic waste, harmonising
collection schemes across regions,
as well as broadening the
scope of Extended Producer's
Schemes. With increased collection
rates, these resources
can be captured and fed back
into the economy, thereby lowering
plastics' environmental
footprint. To effectively address
this challenge a joint effort and
collaboration among legislators,
Member States, regions,
plastic value chain and citizens
alike is necessary.
As well, the industry must
keep up with the good work:
circularity is the only way forward
Recent
EU policy and global
developments have led to massive
investments in plastics recycling
capacity, while promoting
circular business models.
It is no longer merely a societal
demand, but the only way that
the plastics industry in Europe
can remain competitive. Brand
owners, retailers and other
market players are increasingly
shifting towards recycled materials
and more sustainable models.
This is visible in the number
of commitments and pledges
from these actors. These commitments
cover a range of different
actions, including increasing
recyclability. Retailers, converters
and brand owners are now,
more than ever before, focused
on the integration of the recycled
polymers in their products.
The increase in new recycling
capacities, combined with
ongoing technological research
and development, indicates
that, while achieving the 2025
targets will be challenging, the
2030 ones will be much easier
to accomplish.
Additionally, there is a growing
trend toward sharing and
using best practices and new
technologies to further increase
the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness
of plastics recycling
processes, notwithstanding
the differences in systems,
performance, and availability
of infrastructure across the EU
countries.
Finally, Europe's dependency
on natural resources, such
as crude oil, puts the continent
at a disadvantage regarding its
ambitious vision for a sustainable
and carbon-neutral future.
Diversified use of feedstocks
is necessary to address this
dependency, and currently, recyclates
are the best available
substitute for virgin plastics.
Reaching the 2025 target of
a 50% recycling rate for plastic
packaging in just two and
half years from today (and taking
into consideration the new
calculation method), remains
challenging to achieve. However,
important developments are
creating traction for striving for
attaining the other objectives.
Yes, the set goals are very ambitious
and we might miss them
this time. But the undertaken
and ongoing work will remain a
stepping stone towards a more
circular plastics economy.
Antonino Furfari is the
Managing Director of Plastic
Recyclers Europe (PRE). PRE
represents the voice of the
European plastics recyclers
PRE. The Brussels-based
association actively promotes
the growth of the European
plastics recycling industry
and supports the transition
towards a circular economy.
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