Plastic Recycling Technologies for Packaging Applications

This is a summary of a detailed analysis of technologies available to recycle plastics for packaging. 

Recycling technologies have been categorized as:

• Sorting / Separation (an enabler for recycling)
• Mechanical Recycling
• Physical Purification
• Chemical / Enzymatic Depolymerization
• Pyrolysis
• Gasification

To identify, categorize, and prioritize different recycling technologies for consideration, we have evaluated them against 4 main types of plastic materials:

• Food-Grade PET
• Packaging-Grade Polyolefins
• Food-Grade Polyolefins
• Multi-Layer Plastics

In this report, each category of recycling technologies, their associated solutions, and their applicability to plastic materials will be explored in further detail.

Summary of Findings

1. Demand for recycled plastics, especially food-grade Polyolefins, will outstrip supply in the short to medium term, requiring companies to secure supplies through strategic partnerships and long-term procurement contracts or fail to meet public commitments
2. Emerging sorting and separation technologies promise to improve volume and quality of feedstock supply for Mechanical Recycling across all types of plastics, but most are still a few years away from mass commercial scale
3. Investments by large players in Mechanical Recycling and solvent / enzymatic depolymerization technologies are expected to reduce the supply gap in recycled food-grade PET
4. Supply of recycled Packaging-Grade Polyolefins will benefit from improvements in sorting / separation technologies, Mechanical Recycling, and purification technologies
5. Risk of contamination of post-consumer Polyolefins makes it challenging to secure large quantities of mechanically recycled food-grade material, the most promising recycling option for food-grade Polyolefins in the short to medium term is pyrolysis
6. Gasification technologies are predominantly focused on converting mixed municipal waste into fuels or directly into energy, making it less likely to be a large source of recycled plastics

The graphic below provides a visual summary of our key findings.