Treasure Hunt
Why the market for recycled plastic isn’t running smoothly… and how that could change
The market for recycled plastic is broken – the POLYPROBLEM Report summarizes the situation regarding plastic recycling. The study by the Röchling Foundation and the consulting firm Wider Sense, in cooperation with cirplus, analyzes why the plastic cycle is currently failing and provides approaches to solutions for politics and industry.
Almost 400 million tons of plastic are currently produced worldwide every year. However, less than ten percent of this consists of recycled material. We are far from a functioning recycling cycle. The situation seems paradoxical at first glance: The recycling companies complain about a lack of sales opportunities. At the same time, product manufacturers and plastics processors miss recyclates in sufficient quantity and quality. Supply and demand do not come together.
This POLYPROBLEM Report explores this problem in discussions with leading experts from business and science.
One of many problems with recycled plastic: the price. The fact that newly produced plastic is 20 to 30 percent cheaper to purchase than a recyclate of comparable quality surprises many consumers, but is still a reality despite the major social debate about the plastic problem.
While recyclers complain about the price disadvantage of recyclates compared to virgin material and a lack of economies of scale, the applying industry is calling for an innovation boost to increase the quality and quantity of high-quality plastic recyclates.
Another key to a significantly higher proportion of recyclates in plastics production would be improved standards and norms that provide processors and producers with reliable information about material properties. This is pointed out by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hans Josef Endres and Dr. Madina Shamsuyeva from Leibniz University Hannover in the POLYPROBLEM Report.
Click here to go directly to the download of the POLYPROBLEM Report.
Under the title POLYPROBLEM, the non-profit Röchling Foundation and Wider Sense are combining various information and networking offers that should contribute to better cooperation in solving this global challenge. These include studies, webinars, workshops and excursions.
