High-quality recyclates could come from used household flexible plastics
Findings from a project that assesses the prospects for a 50,000t/y, advanced mechanical recycling plant.
Flexible plastic packaging remains one of the most difficult packaging formats to recycle into high-value applications, highlighting the need for scaleable recycling pathways.
The report by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) identifies the conditions needed to scale up the capability commercially. It invites industry stakeholders with open-source resources to support the development of this recycling capability.
The assessment also shows the importance of systemic enablers, such as robust Extended Producer Responsibility schemes, mandated recycled content targets and concessionary capital, alongside a market-driven approach focused on premium recyclates and strong end-market demand.
This comes as brands, retailers and packaging producers prepare for the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, which mandates 35% post-consumer recycled content in non-food packaging by 2030.
Key findings include:
- Advanced mechanical recycling can deliver high-quality films for demanding applications such as shrink films, labels and pouches
- Mechanical recycling will need complementary chemical recycling, particularly for processing multi-material films targeting food-contact applications
- Achieving high-quality recyclates requires a shift in operational philosophy to deprioritise traditional low-cost, mixed-commodity processing
- Systematic enablers are still vital to bridge the economic gap between high-quality recycling and virgin polymers
- Capital must be optimised via brownfield expansion and upstream sorting
The quest for quality: scaling advanced mechanical recycling to meet recycled content targets for flexibles report builds on learnings from the ValueFlex project.
This initiative was launched in 2022 by the AEPW, CEFLEX, Roland Berger and HTP Engineering to develop a commercially viable 50,000t/y advanced mechanical recycling solution for household flexible plastic packaging waste.
The facility ultimately wasn’t built due to changing macroeconomic and policy conditions, but the project is said to have generated valuable technical, operational and economic insights. The report makes these insights publicly available through detailed plant design, engineering and economic assessments, providing a blueprint for future projects.
