How do I best recycle?

Although all materials have different prerequisites, there are some common factors that must be met in order for recycling to be possible – a collection system, sortable materials and a buyer of the recycled material. 

"Some of the plastics we have today we can collect and sort, but there is no market for them. Instead, they can be recycled through incineration and transformed into heat and electricity,” says Mattias Andersson. 

Another key to producing as good recycled material as possible is that the material is clean, that is, a product does not consist of many different polymers. Something that today is often used to create products with optimal functionality. 

“When you melt down different polymers together, the quality is often reduced. It can be used, but often in applications with low requirements, so-called ‘downcycling’,” explains Mattias Andersson. 

Two different methods

What are the methods for recycling plastic in particular? The most widely used method today is mechanical recycling. Here, the plastic is melted down and then converted into pellets, which can then be used by companies to make new products and components.  The main rule is that mechanical recycling is to be used whenever possible. However, the recycled raw material usually is of a slightly inferior quality for every time it is recycled. 

“Mechanical recycling is the least energy-intensive. And there are good systems for that. That's how we recycle plastic today,” says Mattias Andersson. 

Returning to original quality – but energy required

The other major method available, chemical recycling, is not as developed as the mechanical one, but entails that the material recycled can be returned to the original quality.  

“The basic principle of chemical recycling is to break up the polymer chains in the plastic and recreate the original material. There are several different types of chemical recycling, the most common being pyrolysis, gasification and depolymization,” says Mattias Andersson.

Chemical recycling is presently not conducted on a large scale, but research and development is ongoing with various pilot plants, and several larger companies are investing in the technology. The method is especially useful for contaminated materials or if a material contains several different polymeric materials. Even when the material contains harmful or hazardous substances, the method can be effective. 

“With chemical recycling, you can get rid of these chemicals and gain a clean recycled material,” says Mattias Andersson. 

But the method is expensive. 

“The disadvantage is the energy cost. It will also be more expensive to set up a chemical recycling plant compared to a mechanical one,” says Mattias Andersson. 

Expertise in recyclability

RISE has built up unique expertise in recycling and works with many different aspects of the techniques.

“RISE has expertise in several different areas, but at our unit we primarily help to test and evaluate the recyclability of a product, but also to help companies use recycled materials and find the right quality of materials,” concludes Mattias Andersson.