Recycle more packaging – potential for PE and PP

In 2020, policymakers introduced the Packaging Act, among other things, another major milestone on the road towards a circular economy. Under this act, all products must be designed and manufactured in such a way that the packaging can be reused or recycled after use. The goal is to create high-quality plastic products from plastic packaging waste - which is said to be plastic waste. But in terms of recyclability, there is a big difference between different types of plastic. Plastics that can be classified by type, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), are particularly suitable.

Types of plastics and their identification by recycling codes​

There is hardly any other material present in everyday use more than plastic. More than 400 billion tons of plastics with different properties - flexible or hard, transparent or opaque, soft or hard - are produced worldwide each year.




To distinguish between the different types, there is an abbreviation standard known as a recycling code. These codes provide information about the material and its proper use and recycling.

Overview of the most commonly used plastics​

Polypropylene (PP)​

Polypropylene (PP) is a strong and flexible plastic that is very similar to HDPE in its properties and structure. With a market share of about 21%, it accounts for the second highest share in the packaging sector in Germany after PE.

In principle, PP is also very suitable for recycling. It can be processed as a recycled material for reuse or directly reprocessed into new products. In Europe, recycled plastic can usually only be reused for food packaging after consultation with the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) to be reused for food packaging. In principle, this applies to all recycled plastics that come into contact with food. Since EFSA does not yet have sufficient data on r-PP from mechanical recycling, the material is generally not approved for food contact. For this reason, r-PP is not usually used to make new packaging, but is used to make items such as garden furniture, park benches, and home appliances.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)​

PET is best known as the material used to make disposable and reusable bottles for beverages. However, a lot of other plastic packaging is also made of PET.

In terms of recyclability, PET has the best recycling balance sheet in Germany. This fact is largely due to the consignment system for disposable beverage containers introduced in 2003. As a result, 99% of all PET bottles are collected and used as the basis for products. new. PET can be processed many times into high quality products and it retains its properties even after being reprocessed many times. For example, a new PET beverage bottle can be made entirely of recycled PET.

Recycling potential for PE and PP​

Recycling PET alone will not be enough to meet ambitious future climate goals. The European Plastics Recyclers Association (PRE) sees great potential for recycling polyethylene (PE), the second most processed plastic in the EU with around 9 million tonnes per year. Although PE is easily recyclable, the current recycling rate of low-density PE is only about 31%. According to PRE, those rates could be higher. The organization states that plastic film waste, for example, is still considered a difficult material to handle, even though Europe has demonstrated that recycling of stretch film is possible.



To be able to maximize the potential for recycling, on the one hand products will have to be designed with more in mind for their future recycling, and on the other hand, current recycling technologies will have to be further development. The organization also calls for the introduction of harmonized collection and segregation procedures at the EU level to increase both the quantity and the quality of the waste collected.

The recycling of PP bottles, containers and thermoplastics is also increasing in focus and represents another important part of the recycling market. Recycled PP can be used to manufacture a wide variety of end products for different applications. However, similar to PET waste, the quality and condition of collected PP waste varies. Usually, the quality of the material collected is very low. Therefore, it is also necessary to continue to develop PP recycling technologies and provide new technical solutions to maximize the recycling potential of polypropylene.

Recycle high-quality PE and PP with the help of state-of-the-art sorting technology​

There are many types of packaging made of PE or PP. From soft drink bottle caps and tetra packs to shampoo or milk bottles and detergent dispensers, there are a wide variety of items that vary in color, size, and shape. Especially since there is no return system for PE or PP bottles in many countries, they will be mixed together in trash or trash bins or household recycling centers and pre-sorted by factories. classify. The different nature and varying content, sometimes chemical, of this packaging increase the requirement for sorting and recycling.

Furthermore, there are only very few recycling plants capable of producing food grade recycled PE. In addition, there are hardly any official approvals for recycled PE and PP for food packaging. For this reason, there are hardly any customers for such recycled material.

The right technologies will help maximize the recycling potential of PP and PE in the future. State-of-the-art sorting systems reliably detect and classify plastics, colors, shapes, metals and foreign bodies. Thanks to up to 99% rejection accuracy, they achieve the highest degree of purity. Advanced light and camera technologies also enable the detection of indistinguishable colors and functional materials such as bumpers or additives.

Sorters from Sesotec, for example, offer recyclers maximum sorting flexibility, as they can be individually customized and optimized - whether for sorting bottles, caps or even materials. plastic shredder.

Conclusion​

Since the introduction of the yellow trash can in Germany in 1991 and the bottle deposit system in 2003, plastic recycling has grown steadily. This means that packaging is not simply thrown away after use; it is used as a secondary raw material for the production of new packaging and thus remains a valuable substance in the value chain.

Furthermore, the collection, sorting and treatment of packaging is an important economic sector. And in terms of policymaking, the importance of the circular economy is also constantly growing in Europe, which is reflected in no small part in the stringent regulatory requirements for packaging and its recycling. .

However, the recycling potential, especially for PE and PP, is far from exhausted. Many recycling companies still lack the right technology to sort the variety of plastic packaging by type and produce high-quality recycled materials that can be used to produce new packaging.

2LIANS RECYCLING PTE LTD

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