Technology
It is now widely recognised at both institutional and scientific levels that mechanical recycling alone will not be sufficient to achieve Europe’s ambitious targets in terms of the circular economy, raw material security and decarbonisation.
According to theOECD, even in scenarios where collection and recycling policies improve significantly, a substantial proportion of plastic waste remains technically or economically non-recyclable through mechanical processes, particularly in the case of complex, contaminated or multi-layered waste streams.
In this context, the European institutions recognise the need to integrate multiple recycling technologies, moving beyond an approach based on a single solution. The European Commission states that, whilst mechanical recycling remains the preferred option where technically feasible, chemical recycling represents an essential complementary alternative in cases where mechanical recycling fails to meet the required quality standards or is not practicable.
Industry and policy bodies also emphasise that chemical recycling makes it possible to reintroduce previously extracted carbon back into the production cycle, reducing dependence on fossil raw materials and contributing to the objectives of European strategic autonomy regarding critical resources. From this perspective, mechanical and chemical recycling are regarded as complementary technologies, each playing a specific role in building a truly circular system geared towards reducing overall emissions throughout the life cycle of materials.
Plasta Rei operates on the principle of integration and complementarity with mechanical recycling
Mechanical recycling continues to be an efficient and priority solution for clean, homogeneous PET streams. However, a significant proportion of plastic waste – particularly contaminated, coloured, multi-layered or end-of-life waste with complex characteristics – cannot be effectively recovered through mechanical processes without a gradual loss of quality.
In this context, the short-loop chemical recycling of PET developed by Plasta Rei complements mechanical recycling as a complementary solution, enabling the recovery of materials that would otherwise be destined for energy recovery or landfill, and reintroducing them into the production cycle with quality standards equivalent to those of virgin material.
Advantages of Plasta Rei’s technology
- Upcycling of the material whilst preserving the quality of the original monomer and the resulting polymer
- Recycling of contaminated plastic waste;
- Reduction in the use of new fossil resources;
- Reduction in CO₂ emissions (approximately 65% reduction in GHG emissions compared with the production of virgin PET).