What is Plastic recycling?

Plastic recycling refers to the set of processes through which plastic waste is collected, sorted, treated, and transformed to give it a new useful life, thereby reducing its environmental impact and promoting a more efficient use of resources. In the industrial context, recycling is a key tool within the circular economy, which aims to minimize waste generation and maximize material reuse within the production cycle.

Due to their versatility, low cost, and high durability, plastics have become ubiquitous in nearly every sector—from packaging to automotive, healthcare, and construction. However, these same features pose a major environmental challenge if not managed properly at the end of their useful life. Recycling helps mitigate this impact by reducing the demand for virgin raw materials and lowering the emissions associated with plastic production.

There are several types of plastic recycling, classified by the process used and the resulting material:

• Mechanical recycling: The most common method, it involves shredding, washing, drying, and regranulating plastic waste to produce new material that can be reprocessed through injection molding or extrusion. This is mostly applied to thermoplastics and requires prior separation by polymer type (e.g., PET, PE, PP) to ensure the quality of the recycled material.

• Chemical recycling: This involves breaking down polymers into their original monomers or other basic chemical substances using thermal or catalytic processes. It is suitable for plastics that cannot be mechanically recycled and allows recovery of materials with properties similar to the original ones.

• Energy recovery: Although not recycling in the strict sense, this involves controlled incineration of plastic waste to generate energy. It is used for non-recyclable plastics and must comply with strict emission regulations to be viable.

The success of recycling greatly depends on proper source separation and product design. Design for recycling includes selecting easily recyclable materials, minimizing the number of components, and avoiding mixtures or additives that hinder reprocessing. In this regard, ecodesign and collaboration between manufacturers, processors, and recyclers are essential.

In industrial settings, many companies incorporate post-industrial recycled material (from their own production scraps or rejects) and post-consumer recycled material (from used products) into their processes. Both types require thorough quality control to ensure technical suitability, especially in applications requiring high precision or consistent mechanical performance.

Plastic recycling also presents technical challenges such as thermal degradation after multiple cycles, variability in composition, or the presence of contaminants. Therefore, technological innovation in sorting, cleaning, and reprocessing systems is crucial to improve the quality of recycled material and expand its application in higher-value sectors.

From a regulatory standpoint, plastic recycling is increasingly driven by European and international regulations that promote material reuse, limit certain single-use plastics, and set mandatory recycled content targets for specific products.

In summary, plastic recycling is not only an environmental necessity but also a strategic opportunity to move toward a more sustainable and efficient industry aligned with circular economy principles. Its integration into the plastics value chain transforms waste into resources and responsibly closes the material loop.