RECYCLING LINES | TECHNOLOGY
Suppliers broaden the choice for recycling extruders
The options for selecting the right recycling or recompounding processing line for a particular application or production environment continue to expand. Mark Holmes looks at recent developments
As demand rises for high quality recycled plastics to meet circular economy objectives, so does the requirement for innovative and resourceful processing systems for recycling and recompound- ing. The options available for recyclers are growing as established developers of recycling technology expand their ranges, while manufacturers of other plastics processing equipment, such as extruders, continue to adapt their systems to accommodate and improve recyclates. Current and future regulations are having an enormous impact on the recycling industry and it is seeing a boost as a result, reports manufacturer of recycling systems Erema. “A lot has happened from a technological standpoint and this will continue in the future, however, the recyclate sales market also has to be developed,” says Manfred Hackl, Chief Executive Officer, Erema Group. “To put this into perspective, 29.1m tonnes of post-consumer plastic waste are currently collected in Europe, of which 9.4m tonnes are sorted for mechanical recycling. Around 7.5m tonnes of this material are recycled in Europe and processed into 5.2m tonnes of recyclate, while 4m tonnes of this output are reprocessed in Europe. The EU’s recycling goals alone will mean reusing 10m tonnes of recyclates in Europe every year. This is more than double the current level and a major effort is needed to increase the infrastructure for collection, sorting and recycling and at the same time develop new markets for the recycled plastics.”
www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com IMAGE: KRAUSSMAFFEI
He continues: “A major topic at present is the
use of post-consumer recyclates. Increased demand is mainly driven by new legal require- ments, for example, for the minimum recyclate content in PET bottles, and there are plans to set such quotas for other plastic products as well. In addition, the climate targets of the EU’s Green Deal are accelerating the transition to a circular econo- my, as well as voluntary commitments of interna- tional leading brand manufacturers demanding a higher use of recycled material in their end products. Society also demands that we recycle as much as possible. At the same time, processors are also increasingly looking to manufacture products from recyclates, as demand is currently growing rapidly. For this reason, processes are specifically optimised for the use of recyclates, and the available material is assessed for every possible application. However, this development is still in its infancy and there is still a lot of potential to grow. In general, it is important to weigh up functionality and recyclability and to observe the overall eco-balance of plastic packaging. Factors such as the shelf life of food also need to be taken into account. So, the smart use of additives where they are needed, is also a major consideration.”
Main image: KraussMaffei says its extrusion solutions can produce high quality recompounds
� October 2021 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 25
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