Michael Brunn

The report concludes that further reductions in greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions will require structural industrial transformation and consistent implementation of existing EU environmental and climate legislation.

The enhanced microplastic analysis builds on RECOUP's existing laboratory services, which include recyclability assessments, material identification and sorting performance evaluation. The updated methods enable more precise examination of microplastics, generating detailed data on polymer type, particle size, morphology and material behaviour.

Its pellet-based extrusion technology enables the production of full-scale components made from fiber-reinforced thermoplastics, including molds, prototypes and boat structures.

The results are based on full-scale installations in North America and Europe and address key parameters relevant to scrap recyclers, including throughput, copper content and melt yield.

The TXS 350 features self-cleaning stars and sectional speed control, enabling operators to adjust screening parameters according to material characteristics and site conditions. An integrated control system allows for the adjustment of individual deck sections to maintain consistent screening performance across varying feedstocks.

The objective is to support the market introduction of microalgae-derived ingredients as alternatives to fossil-based and food-based raw materials.

The material, presented in the journal Nature Chemistry, functions as an ion-conducting component in a solid-state battery cell and can subsequently be separated into its molecular building blocks through exposure to an organic solvent. The approach is intended to simplify battery disassembly and improve material recovery.

Cusiana operates a secondary aluminum production facility with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year, running 24 hours a day, five days a week. In recent years, the company has expanded its activities from conventional ingot production to include scrap processing and sensor-based sorting. The scrap recovery segment now accounts for approximately half of total revenue. This strategic shift reflects increasing demand from the automotive, construction and aerospace industries for aluminum materials with defined elemental specifications, including strict limits for silicon and iron.

The European Commission has published details of its mass-balance approach under the Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) implementing act voted through on 6 February.

This briefing is based on a 2026 technical report by the European Topic Centre on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency. From more than 460 publications published between 2020 and March 2025, 131 studies with quantifiable and methodologically robust results were analysed. The review assesses both relative emission reductions, expressed as percentage changes compared to business-as-usual scenarios, and absolute reductions in gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent up to 2050.