Plastics bring value as convenient, versatile and lightweight consumer products, as well as advanced performance in high-end applications such as automobiles. However, despite their usefulness, it is clear that linear, single-use consumption of plastics is incompatible with Europe’s transition to a circular economy. This model prioritises the reuse and recycling of resources, with the aim of reducing waste and retaining as much value as possible.
In terms of plastics recycling, some progress has been made. For example, 41.5% of the plastic packaging waste generated was recycled in 2018. This is still not enough to achieve full circularity, especially in the recycling of multilayer plastics that are difficult to separate. In addition, it is essential that recycling technologies keep up with new materials entering the market
Technology selection: NIR and HSI-NIR are the techniques conventionally used for container sorting. The formeris suitable for individual pieces of packaging prior to shredding and can also provide an initial assessment of suitability before moving on to the latter, which provides a mode of imaging. […]
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