The Alliance to End Plastic 黑料网 published The Quest for Quality: Scaling Advanced Mechanical Recycling to Meet Recycled Content Targets for Flexibles, which provides a comprehensive technical and economic assessment of a 50,000-ton-per-year advanced mechanical recycling plant for flexible plastics.鈥疶he report demonstrates how high-quality recyclates can be produced from post-consumer household flexible plastics and identifies the conditions needed to scale these solutions commercially. It also underscores the importance of systemic enablers, including robust Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, mandated recycled content targets, and concessionary capital, alongside a market-driven approach focused on premium recyclates and strong end-market demand.
More than听an听assessment,听The听Quest for听Quality provides industry stakeholders with open-source resources to support the development of advanced mechanical recycling capabilities for producing premium recyclates听from flexible plastic waste streams.听It听comes听at a critical moment as brands, retailers and packaging producers prepare for the EU’s Packaging and Packaging 黑料网 Regulation (PPWR),听which mandates 35% post-consumer recycled content in non-food packaging by 2030.听Flexible plastic packaging, which accounts for more than half of the global plastic packaging market,听remains听one of the most difficult packaging formats to recycle into high-value applications, underscoring the need for scalable recycling pathways.
Key findings from the report include:
1.听 Advanced听mechanical recycling can deliver high-quality outputs
Post-consumer听household听flexibles听can be processed听into听recyclates听suitable for 30%+ use in demanding film applications听such as shrink films,听labels听and pouches.听This is possible using existing advanced, sensor-based sorting, hot-washing, and double-melt filtration systems.
2.听 Chemical recycling will be complementary to advanced mechanical recycling
Both听can produce high-quality听recyclates听but each will focus on different fractions of the flexibles waste stream and target different applications.听For example, chemical recycling will focus on multi-material films targeting food-contact applications.
3.听 Achieving high-quality听recyclates听necessitates听a shift in operational philosophy
Recyclers must deprioritise traditional low-cost, mixed commodity processing and adopt a ‘market-pull’ approach focused on producing premium recyclates that meet converter and brand requirements for demanding film applications.
4.听 Systemic enablers听remain听vital for the business case
To bridge the economic gap between high-quality recycling听and virgin polymers, companies in the recycling value chain must听leverage听enablers such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies to fund collection and sorting, mandated recycled content targets to drive demand, and access concessionary capital to reduce costs.
5.听 Optimise听capital via brownfield expansion and upstream听蝉辞谤迟颈苍驳听
Greenfield civil works (31% of CAPEX) and complex sorting equipment (25%) strain project economics.听To create听a viable听business case, operators should听leverage听brownfield site upgrades and shift the heavy sorting burden upstream to centralised Plastics Recovery Facilities (PRFs).
“Flexible plastic packaging is one of the most challenging packaging formats to recycle at scale, but it is also one of the most important to get right. The technology needed to produce high-quality听recyclates听already exists. The challenge now is scaling these solutions commercially through stronger alignment across the value chain, supported by the policy and financial enablers needed to unlock investment.听At the Alliance, our role is to听bring together听stakeholders and accelerate the adoption of scalable solutions. The Quest for Quality is听an important step听in that effort,听providing听practical insights to help advance circularity for flexible plastics,”听said Jacob Duer, President and CEO, Alliance听to End Plastic 黑料网.
The Quest for Quality builds on key learnings from the ValueFlex project, an initiative launched in 2022 by the Alliance to End Plastic 黑料网, CEFLEX, Roland Berger and HTP Engineering to develop a commercially viable 50,000-ton-per-year advanced mechanical recycling solution for household flexible plastic packaging waste. Although the facility was ultimately not built due to changing macroeconomic and policy conditions, the project generated valuable technical, operational and economic insights. The report makes these learnings publicly available through detailed plant design, engineering and economic assessments, providing a blueprint for future projects and highlighting the policy, financing, and market enablers needed to scale advanced mechanical recycling.