[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/7252\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EHow hard-to-recycle plastic is being made as good as new\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPlastic waste is a growing environmental concern. About 60 million tonnes of plastics are produced in Europe every year while only \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-climate-change-plastics\/european-countries-recycle-less-than-a-third-of-plastic-waste-research-firm-idUSKBN1YF24W\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003E30% of it is recycled\u003C\/a\u003E. Of all the plastic waste ever generated, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/advances.sciencemag.org\/content\/3\/7\/e1700782.full\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003E79% has ended up in landfill or as litter\u003C\/a\u003E in the natural environment.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut as Europe transitions to a more circular economy \u2013 where materials are reused at the end of their life rather than thrown away \u2013 improvements in plastic recycling will play an important part.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecent measures put in place by the European Commission should help make plastic more sustainable. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/info\/research-and-innovation\/research-area\/environment\/plastics-circular-economy_en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EA plastics strategy\u003C\/a\u003E adopted in 2018 aims to tackle the problem by transforming how plastic products are designed, used and recycled. One key target is to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/sites\/beta-political\/files\/plastics-factsheet-challenges-opportunities_en.pdf\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Erecycle 55% of plastic packaging by 2030\u003C\/a\u003E. Packaging has a high environmental footprint: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/news\/2018\/05\/plastics-facts-infographics-ocean-pollution\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eabout 40% of plastic produced\u003C\/a\u003E is used for packaging, which is typically discarded after use.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPackaging is often made up of different types of plastic which makes it challenging to recycle. Fresh food such as meat and cheese, for example, is often protected by many layers such as lids, films and trays which aren\u2019t made from the same type of plastic. Different plastics need to be separated before processing since they don\u2019t blend well together during conventional recycling. But doing this can be time-consuming and costly. This means these items often aren\u2019t recycled or may be considered impossible to recycle.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Normally they are landfilled or in the best case (scenario), incinerated with energy recovery,\u2019 said Dr Elodie Bugnicourt, innovation unit leader at IRIS Technology Solutions, an engineering company in Barcelona, Spain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFibre-reinforced composites often face a similar fate. These plastic-based materials, strengthened with glass or carbon fibres, are used in various interior and exterior car parts, from bumpers to textile covered door panels. Since the different materials are hard to separate, they are typically incinerated at the end of their life.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESecond life\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENew recycling technologies could help though. As part of a project called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/820695\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EMultiCycle\u003C\/a\u003E, Dr Bugnicourt and her project partners are aiming to scale up a patented process called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.creacycle.de\/en\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ECreaSolv\u003C\/a\u003E developed by the Fraunhofer Institute in Munich, Germany which can give multilayer packaging and fibre-reinforced composites a second life again and again.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsing a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.creacycle.de\/en\/the-process.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Esolvent\u003C\/a\u003E-based formula, different types of plastic and fibres are extracted and separated by dissolving them in a solution. Then the polymers \u2013 long chains of molecules that make up a plastic \u2013 are recovered from the solution in solid form and reshaped into plastic pellets. Recovered fibres can also be reused.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo far, the process shows promising benefits over existing methods. With conventional mechanical recycling, plastic typically degrades when processed so it has limited use. And although chemical recycling \u2013 an emerging technology that turns plastic back into small molecules, or monomers, can create high-quality plastic, it can be energy intensive. With CreaSolv, recycled plastic is of high quality and the process is more efficient. \u2018We recover a polymer instead of a monomer which is an advantage because we don\u0027t need to use energy to polymerise the material again,\u2019 said Dr Bugnicourt.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018We want to demonstrate that it\u0026#039;s possible to have a circular economy in the plastic sector.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Tatiana Garcia Armingol, CIRCE, Zaragoza, Spain\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo far, the team has been conducting small scale trials with multilayer packaging and composites to test the process. At the same time, they have been designing a large-scale pilot plant in Bavaria where trials should start in July. The main challenge will be to process waste made up of complex mixtures of plastics on a large scale, says Dr Bugnicourt.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMembers of the team have also been developing a system to monitor the composition of plastic waste. They want to be able to automatically identify the plastic and fibre types in a product so that the process can be optimised based on the batches of materials to be recycled.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Bugnicourt thinks the system could be installed in existing recycling plants to expand the types of plastics recycled. Specialised facilities could also be set up to process industrial waste.. \u2018Some manufacturers of packaging which have a lot of post-industrial waste of a given type could invest into having their own recycling plants,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESpecialised\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EImproving existing recycling processes could also reduce the environmental impact of plastic waste types that are harder to reuse. While certain commonly-used plastics are widely recycled, such as PET which is used to make drink bottles, plastics with more specialised uses often aren\u2019t. Technological barriers are often responsible.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The technologies may not be mature or they have the problem of not being cost-efficient because of lack of development,\u2019 said Dr Tatiana Garcia Armingol, director of the energy and environment group at CIRCE energy research centre in Zaragoza, Spain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Garcia Armingol and her colleagues are demonstrating ways to boost the recovery rate of certain hard to recycle plastics as part of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/820665\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EPOLYNSPIRE project\u003C\/a\u003E. They are focussing on polyamides \u2013 plastics used in car parts such as gears and airbags \u2013 and polyurethanes \u2013 flexible foam used in products like mattresses and carpets.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team think that conventional recycling can be improved to boost the quality of recycled plastic. To do this, they\u2019re investigating two technologies: adding vitrimers \u2013 a relatively-new type of plastic that is both tough and malleable - as well as incorporating high energy irradiation. \u2018Both technologies have the main goal of increasing the resistance of recycled materials and improving their properties so they can be used in high requirement applications,\u2019 said Dr Garcia Armingol.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther innovations they are exploring could improve chemical recycling. The technology has huge potential for reaching a circular economy since it allows plastic to be continuously recycled while maintaining its quality. However its environmental footprint could be curtailed. The use of microwaves or smart magnetic materials, for example, could reduce the amount of energy needed to generate heat for polymerisation, where the monomers produced from the recycling process are joined together to form the long chains of molecules that make up plastic.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018(Conventional) chemical recycling can have a high environmental impact,\u2019 said Dr Garcia Armingol. \u2018One of our main goals is to demonstrate that it can be cost-effective and environmentally-friendly.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESemi-industrial\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo far, the team has been testing the proposed technologies in the lab. Now they are gearing up for the engineering phase of the project where they will show that they are feasible on a semi-industrial scale. They are currently working on the pre-treatment and purification stages of recycling.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe next step of the project will be to show that the plastic produced with these technologies is of good enough quality to replace virgin material. Dr Garcia Armingol and her colleagues will be focussing on a few applications such as automotive parts, where there are stringent quality requirements, and mattresses.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWorking closely with industrial partners from the automotive sector and chemical and waste management companies will also be key to the adoption of their technologies. \u0026nbsp;\u2018It\u0027s very relevant for us to have feedback from the industrial sector about their requirements and expectations,\u2019 said Dr Garcia Armingol. \u2018We want to demonstrate that it\u0027s possible to have a circular economy in the plastic sector.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. 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