Despite extreme uncertainty, figures show advancement in the market. However, the disparities in the collection, sorting and recycling of PET around Europe will need to be addressed to achieve the EU recycling targets in the mid and long-term. PET collection and recycling accelerated in 2022 ahead of the new EU Single-Use Plastic Directive targets. The collection rate of PET in 2022 was 60%, showing an increase from the 45% achieved in 2020. Furthermore, the sorted for recycling rate for PET beverage bottles alone was estimated to be 75%, compared to 61% in 2020. This collection rate is expec ..read more

Its data provides an overview of European plastics production, conversion, consumption, and waste management, and includes an analysis of plastics production from non-fossil sources, and recycling technologies. The study’s central finding is that circular plastics now account for 13.5% of new plastic products manufactured in Europe. This means that the European plastics system is halfway towards the interim ambition – established in the ‘Plastics Transition’ roadmap – to use 25% of plastics from circular sources in new products by 2030. However, the report’s data also highlights several major ..read more

This enables sorting tests to be carried out with shredded plastics using the latest state of development. Recently, feasibility studies with industrial partners have used the pilot line to demonstrate that shredded plastic pieces (20–80 mm) can be automatically separated, identified with high precision and deposited into many fractions without errors. The sorting tests indicate that such material streams can be sorted into the desired fractions with a yield of 70 — 90%. For labeled plastics, a purity of 99.9% was achieved in the sorted fraction. The comparatively high quality of the NIR dete ..read more

The focus will be on classic input materials such as commercial, industrial and municipal solid waste, waste wood and scrap, and the mechanical and chemical recovery of plastics. At an expert talk on the Orange Stage, Lindner also wants to present innovative approaches to successfully address chemical recycling demands. Lindner will be presenting two new products at IFAT 2024. The new stationary universal shredder with twin-shaft technology is primarily geared towards waste wood, industrial and commercial waste and scrap. The second product innovation, an electrically powered semi-mobile sing ..read more

At a time when plastic packaging was becoming more and more complex, the Andalusian company, under the leadership of Juanjo Sánchez, was looking for state-of-the-art solutions. Their search led them to Steinert. It all started in 1986 when the general managers’ fathers, two childhood friends, began collecting, processing and transforming plastics into something of value at a time when such activities were viewed with scepticism. Navigating unknown territory, they launched a mission of discovery, learning first hand the difficulties of plastic recycling. These early efforts, laid the foundatio ..read more

“Congratulations to the finalists that qualified this year. Brand owners, product and packaging designers, raw material producers and equipment manufacturers from the whole plastics value chain in Europe are among the finalists,” said Ton Emans, President of Plastics Recyclers Europe. “Every product and project is a clear result of the investments the European recycling industry has been injecting into the sector for the last decade. We shouldn’t forget this in the evolving legislative landscape.” Plastics Recycling Awards Europe 2024 Finalists: Automotive, Electrical or Electronic Product of ..read more

The majority of the materials to be recycled are waste products from agriculture. ‘We have been working with materials from the agricultural sector for years, including agricultural film and large amounts of big bag waste. Back then, there was no recycling facility for big bags in Lithuania or nearby countries. That’s what motivated us to invest in this area and recycle these materials locally. However, we soon realised that recycling big bags is a very complex issue,’ explains Virginijus Skublickas, Managing Director at Virginijus ir Ko, ‘but we didn’t give up and found the right partner for ..read more

Part of these pressures comes from returned and unsold textiles that are destroyed and never used for their intended purpose. A new European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing looks at the issue and estimates the share of returned and unsold textiles that are destroyed in Europe and options to address this challenge. The EEA briefing ‘The destruction of returned and unsold textiles in Europe’s circular economy’ provides an overview of existing knowledge on returned and unsold textiles in Europe. The briefing is underpinned by a technical report by the EEA’s European Topic Centre on Circular Ec ..read more

The partnership will leverage Landbell Group’s expertise and network in the sourcing of PET packaging and textile waste, which will be prepared for biorecycling. Thanks to Carbios’ highly selective enzyme, less sorting and washing is required compared to current recycling technologies, offering future savings in energy and water use. From 2026, Landbell Group will supply Carbios with 15 kt/year of PET flakes, ensuring a steady supply chain for sustainable PET production. These flakes will serve as essential feedstock for Carbios’ production of food-grade PTA and MEG, further re-polymerized in ..read more

Imports of low-cost plastics, both virgin and plastics labelled as recycled, fail to contribute to the EU’s circularity goals. Mainly imported from Asia, these plastics are processed under conditions that fall short of EU standards, with limited push for circularity of materials in their home countries. They’re not produced from EU plastic waste, and the countries they come from have not implemented circularity targets like the EU’s. As a result, European plastics recycling companies, despite having invested hundreds of millions of euros to meet circularity goals, are now forced to operate be ..read more