Understanding the primary recycling methods

Designers are creating products with the potential to be recycled in mind, and right now they are uncovering a variety of new solutions to increase recyclability and transform the end-of-life process.

Mechanical recycling of plastics is a process that involves recycling plastics waste into raw materials without significantly changing its chemical structure. In Europe, mechanical recycling currently makes up 99 percent of all recycling processes. Plastics that cannot be mechanically recycled may be a valuable resource for feedstock/chemical recycling or energy recovery.

The ideal waste for mechanical recycling is plastic waste streams that produce one type of plastic in a large quantity. A single type of clean plastic yields greater environmental and financial benefits, especially when factoring in the costs required to collect, sort and transport multiple types.

Chemical recycling involves changing the chemical structure of plastic waste to break it down into smaller molecules so it can be used for new chemical reactions. It contributes to sustainability as it prevents certain plastic waste from going to a landfill when it is unable to be mechanically recycled.

Laminated and composite plastics, low-quality mixed plastics and contaminated plastics are a few examples of plastics that could be candidates for chemical recycling.

For some plastics, energy recovery is the most resource-efficient form of recycling and an alternative when waste cannot be sustainably recycled. Energy recycling combines plastic waste with other materials to produce energy for power plants and related industries. Energy recovery processes use technology to ensure they are as efficient and environmentally responsible as possible.

Energy recovery processes can be versatile. It can convert solid waste into many different types of energy including steam, power, chemicals, substitute natural gas, crude oil and transportation fuels.

Gasification, pyrolysis and depolymerisation are examples of processes used to break down plastic waste. The result is gases, liquids and/or semi-liquids that can be used to create new products or reactions.

Combined heat and power recovery plants (CHP plants) can use energy recovery processes to create heat and power. Thermal power plants, as well as cement and lime kilns, may use solid recovered fuel (SRF), which contains plastic waste, reducing the use of fossil fuels and decreasing carbon emissions.

The mobius loop is a widely used, generic symbol to show that a product includes recycled content or to indicate a product can be recycled. This symbol is not owned by a specific organization and does not mean that a product has been certified recyclable.