Michael Brunn

On 27 October, at the event's Opening Session chaired by BIR President Susie Burrage OBE, delegates were assured by keynoter speaker Juan Verde that the sustainability agenda was not under threat. It was being re-labelled and recycling remained critical.

Out of all the packaging waste generated, 40.4% was paper and cardboard, 19.8% was plastic, 18.8% glass, 15.8% wood, 4.9% metal and 0.2% other packaging.

Key findings (as of October 2025):

ICIS and CPCIF have released a new study shedding light on the impacts of the European Union's circularity regulation on global demand for recycled plastics, generally and China's chemical industries, in particular, with key implications across packaging, automotive, and textiles.

Located at IMRO's headquarters in Uffenheim, Germany, the facility will combine ZenRobotics robotic and sensor-based sorting technologies with IMRO's processing lines to efficiently recover valuable materials from complex waste streams. A key focus will be the treatment of incinerator bottom ash. IBA typically contains a diverse mix of ash, glass, ceramics, and metals, including ferrous and non-ferrous fractions. Through fully automated identification and recovery processes, the facility will extract high-value metals such as aluminium, copper, and stainless steel from IBA and other hard-to-process waste, enhancing both material purity and operational efficiency.

This strong support from organisations throughout Europe confirms EuCIA's conviction that composites circularity is a key driver for the entire value chain and will only be fully achieved through the collaboration of all stakeholders. The ECCA, a sectorial alliance of EuCIA, will provide a platform for knowledge sharing and cooperation, driving collective action to establish truly circular, sustainable value chains for composite materials. Alignment with EU policy frameworks such as the Green Industrial Deal and the Circular Economy Act (which is currently undergoing public consultation) will be key to the Alliance's success. Through EuCIA, the ECCA has already opened a dialogue with EU policy officers.

As waste streams grow increasingly complex, operators face a dual challenge: recovering as many valuable materials as possible while ensuring consistent quality. AISEE addresses these challenges by accelerating the commissioning of large-scale projects with Pellenc's NIR optical sorters and continuously monitoring waste streams at key points in the sorting process.

In total, the EU generated 58.2 million tonnes of food waste, which includes edible and inedible parts, indicating a slight increase of 0.7% compared with 2022 (57.8 million tonnes).

Accreditation by DAkkS ensures that PlastCert, as a certification body, meets the highest standards of competence and impartiality. It promotes ongoing quality assurance and continuous improvement of certification processes. This strengthens confidence in PlastCert's certifications among both certified companies and purchasers of certified products.

The demanding requirements for quality and quantity in waste stream separation call for new solutions to meet these challenges. One promising approach lies in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision, combined with existing technologies such as near-infrared (NIR) cameras. This article aims to introduce these technologies, explain their exponential growth, explore current applications in waste sorting, and highlight their potential for the future.