ADDITIVES FOR RECYCLING | SUSTAINABILITY
Additives to enable plastics circularity
Additives may hold the key to improving
recyclability of post-consumer plastics and for improving formulations containing recycled plastics, writes Jennifer Markarian
Over recent years, the focus of many sustainability initiatives has been on developing plastics parts that perform their design function while using less material. Today, though, the increased focus on plastic waste and the aim to create a more circular economy is placing greater emphasis on end-of-life options for plastic items. A key element in making “circularity” a reality will be ensuring plastics can be effectively recycled into materials that offer good levels of performance. Additive technologies are likely to play a significant role. A number of non-profit organisations are
addressing the problem of plastics waste and the need for better recycling at a political level. The UK Plastics Pact, founded in 2018, is an initiative from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Plastics Pact network that aims to transform “the way the UK makes, uses and disposes of plastic.” In August this year, the US Plastics Pact was launched with 60 members ranging from consumer goods to chemical companies and associations such as the Association of Plastics Recyclers (APR). These non-profit groups have set ambitious goals for the next few years for recycling and the use of recy-
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clate. Many consumer goods producers have also set their own individual targets. Mechanical recycling faces many hurdles, not
the least of which is that it is generally more cost-effective to use virgin polymer. While various groups are working on frameworks to address the economic dilemma, industry innovators are pressing forward with solving the technical chal- lenges of recycling through the use of additive technologies.
Improving rPET The polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycle stream is already well established. Meeting brand owner requirements for circularity, however, means the industry is striving to use more recycled PET (rPET) bottle waste back into bottles and other packaging applications rather than use in rPET fibre. To this end, a range of new additives and masterbatches are coming to the market to improve rPET colour, odour, and appearance, as well as to enable better recyclability. Avient (formerly PolyOne) has launched a low-haze, non-polyamide-based oxygen scavenger
Main image: There are considerable technical challenges involved in effective recycling of post-consumer plastics.
Additives are providing the solution to some of them
October 2020 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 35
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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