Achieving the mandatory recycling targets for 2030 and securing the required quantity of high-quality recyclates for packaging production will necessitate a several-fold increase in processing capacity and efficiency of material recycling plants across Europe. Dana Mosora, a consultant at CEFLEX, shared insights on the immense transformation awaiting the market in this field with Polish companies during the Natureef Association’s webinar in May.
The Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging (CEFLEX) initiative, which unites European companies and organizations representing the entire value chain in flexible packaging, conducted an assessment of five promising recycling technology classes and how they can collaborate to enhance the value of various waste streams. The information gathered aims to help meet the growing demand for high-quality recyclates, expand their end-market applications, and improve recycling rates.
New Technologies Under Scientific Scrutiny
“To realize the CEFLEX Mission Circular vision and the ambitious goals outlined in the PPWR regulation – including a 55% recycling rate for flexible packaging by 2035 – we must continue to innovate and support technologies that significantly improve material quality. This will enable the use of recyclates in more demanding applications and increase recycling rates by processing complex waste streams that current methods cannot yet handle,” says Dana Mosora.
The five new recycling technologies with which CEFLEX associates hope in this context are:
- Advanced Wet Friction Washing
- delamination
- deinking
- extraction
- dissolution.
These are being developed by companies and industry institutions in Europe. The organization, in collaboration with scientists from Ghent University, prepared criteria for their evaluation and investigated how they can be used to increase recycling levels, improve the quality of recyclates, and what synergies can result from their application.
Reaching the 2030 Target
CEFLEX published a detailed analysis of individual technologies on May 21st in the report “New Recycling Technologies: Advancing Circularity in Flexible Packaging.”
Its authors state that advanced decontamination technologies, combined with mechanical and physical recycling, have the potential to increase recycling rates, improve the quality of recyclates, and shift the industry’s focus from quantitative recycling to high-quality material recycling consistent with circular economy principles. Despite market difficulties in the broader recycling sector, specialized technology and solution providers are striving to scale up their operations, planning to achieve production capacities ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 tons per technology by 2030. The dissolution technology alone could reach an output of 250,000 tons, with anticipated demand from the packaging, automotive, and cosmetics industries driven by the high quality of the recycled raw material obtained.
Upon completion of the demonstration phase and full implementation, these innovations can play a decisive role in achieving the PPWR targets for recycling rates and recycled content.
However, scaling these technologies in time to meet the 2030 targets will not be easy. Significant barriers will include access to appropriate waste streams, investment in commercial-scale facilities, clear regulations, and an adequate pace of approval for food-contact compliant processes, as well as seamless integration with existing recycling infrastructure.
Recycling Goals Achieved Across the Packaging Value Chain
“To overcome these challenges, strategic actions are needed across the entire packaging sector value chain, starting with the implementation of Design for Recycling guidelines, which will increase recycling rates and optimize raw material for new waste processing methods. These issues are described in the PPWR and, as our observations and direct conversations confirm, are the subject of interest and work for many Polish companies,” adds Jaśmina Solecka, President of the Natureef Association, which brings together 60 Polish packaging manufacturers, food producers, and recycling companies.
The authors of the CEFLEX report also emphasize the need to accelerate the development of technologies and investments in intelligent sorting and polymer separation technologies, as well as the development of policies, financial mechanisms, and incentives that will support investment in new technologies.
“The shift to a quality-based rather than quantity-based recycling model is a competitive opportunity to set directions for sustainable, economically viable, and environmentally responsible packaging solutions. However, fully leveraging the potential of new technologies for this purpose requires urgent action. Let’s not waste time!” appeals Dana Mosora.
CEFLEX Report „New Recycling Technologies. Advancing Circularity in Flexible Packaging” available on https://ceflex.eu/resources/
