Plastics

The European plastic recycling industry is facing imminent collapse. The surge in low-priced imports of recycled plastics, the consequent decrease in the demand for EU-made recyclates, mounting economic pressures and excessive red tape are driving an increasing number of EU recyclers out of business.

Tray-to-tray recycling is becoming a recognized approach for advancing circularity in plastic packaging – especially for food-grade applications. Valerio Sama, Business Development Manager – Packaging at Tomra Recycling, examines the latest developments in tray-to-tray recycling, detailing the challenges, technologies and market trends shaping its growth across the industry.

The DECONWASTE project, funded by IVACE+i and the ERDF, aims to address the challenge of meeting the food safety requirements set by European regulations and ensuring consumer protection.

Indorama Ventures has announced that it has recycled more than 150 billion post-consumer PET bottles since 2011.

Southeast and East Asia plays a central role in the global effort to tackle plastic pollution, given its substantial share of the global economy, strategic position in plastics value chains and rapidly rising plastics demand, according to a new OECD report.

Multilayer plastic materials present a major challenge at the end of their life cycle due to the complexity of separating and processing their different components. This difficulty leads to lower recycling efficiency and increases the amount of waste ending up in landfills or incinerators.

It defies the ravages of time again and again and celebrates an almost endless comeback – the record. A traditional company from Haarlem is partly responsible for the previous peak in the seventies, as well as for the modern boom: Record Industry.

Regulatory uncertainty, multi-material compositions, limited collection rates and a competitive landscape pose significant challenges for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) tray recycling in Europe, but the industry is working to make it a reality, albeit at a slower pace than some would like.

The European Food Safety Authority EFSA confirms the compliance of the decontamination performance of the Recostar PET art recycling process from Starlinger in a positive “Scientific Opinion” based on the new regulation in force since 2022.

RecyClass has released significant updates to its Design for Recycling Guidelines and Recyclability Evaluation Protocols, reflecting the latest scientific findings and ongoing collaboration across the plastic packaging value chain.

The first set of RecyClass Recyclability Evaluation Protocols for Automotive and Electrical & Electronic Equipment (EEE) has been published following intense collaboration with the plastic value chain.