Limits of Plastic Recycling in Manufacturing

Why Recycling Plastic Film is Challenging (and Why We Do It Anyway) Recycling flexible film into a product that can be used again in flexible packaging is a complex process.  Despite the challenges, NOVA Circular Solutions is making significant strides to increase the supply and improve the quality of recycled polyethylene (rPE) made from flexible films to enable circularity.  Here's why recycling plastic film is so challenging and why we continue to pursue it. The Challenges of Plastic Film Recycling 1. Securing the Feedstock: Plastic films are thin and light and often intermingled with other materials making collection and sorting a critical task. Ensuring a consistent supply of clean plastic film feedstock requires either meticulous manual sorting or state-of-the-art automated sorting technology to ensure the consistency of feedstock necessary to produce a high quality rPE. 2. Specialized Equipment: Recycling plastic film requires specialized processing equipment that can shred, wash, dry and extrude the thin, flexible material without causing jams at high production rates. 3. Quality Control: Maintaining the quality of rPE to meet industry standards for flexible packaging requires robust manufacturing practices and sophisticated quality control testing. 4. Regulatory Compliance: Navigating the complex web of regulations governing plastic recycling for food-grade materials requires meticulous attention to detail and adherence to stringent traceability standards. It is important to make sure rPE is certified and compliant for its intended use, especially for food contact applications. Despite these challenges, the benefits of recycling plastic film are undeniable: 1. Environmental Impact: Recycling reduces the amount of plastic waste in landfills and oceans, mitigating pollution and conserving natural resources. 2. Economic Benefits: Creating a market for recycled plastic film can stimulate economic growth and create jobs in the recycling industry. Our Approach NOVA Circular Solutions is at the forefront of tackling these challenges. Our first mechanical recycling facility for PE film is now online. The SYNDIGO1 facility located in Connersville, IN represents a significant step forward in the recycling industry, aiming to produce high quality SYNDIGO recycled PE. We employ cutting-edge technologies and rigorous manufacturing processes to ensure the quality and safety of the recycled products. By working closely with regulatory bodies and industry partners, NOVA Circular Solutions is setting new standards for plastic film recycling. While recycling plastic film is challenging, the environmental and economic benefits make it a worthwhile endeavor. NOVA Circular Solutions is leading the way, demonstrating that with innovation and commitment, we can overcome these obstacles and make a positive impact on our planet.

Transportation Research Board released a draft NCHRP Research Report regarding Evaluation of Post-Consumer Recycled Plastics in Asphalt Mixtures via the Dry Process: https://lnkd.in/gJmsRX9n A comprehensive evaluation was conducted to examine the feasibility, challenges, and performance impacts of incorporating post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics into asphalt mixtures. This study utilized a combination of laboratory experiments, contractor surveys, and field evaluations to assess how PCR plastics influence asphalt mixture performance across key metrics. The research focused on the physical, thermal, and chemical properties of PCR plastics, primarily polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). Results showed that their melting temperatures generally fall within asphalt production ranges, although varying levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and benzene were detected. In terms of asphalt mixture performance, the addition of PCR plastics typically enhanced stiffness and rutting resistance, aligning with improved high-temperature performance. However, reductions in workability and intermediate-temperature cracking resistance highlighted potential challenges, particularly for block cracking. On the other hand, minimal impacts were observed on low-temperature cracking resistance, surface texture, and friction properties. Moisture susceptibility (stripping) varied by mix design, indicating a need for further study. The study also revealed that differences between laboratory and plant production procedures significantly influenced mixture properties, underscoring the difficulty of replicating plant-produced characteristics under controlled conditions. Importantly, no hazardous levels of fumes or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were identified during the laboratory evaluations. Some practical recommendations: ✔️ Use RAP conveyors for introducing plastics into drum plants to mitigate ignition and safety risks. ✔️ Calibrate feeder systems for consistent dosing, particularly for pelletized plastics. ✔️ Adjust asphalt binder grades and mixture designs to address increased stiffness and reduced workability. ✔️ Evaluate volumetric properties to account for differences in specific gravity between plastics and aggregates. ✔️ Select PCR plastics with minimal contamination and ensure their melting temperatures align with production conditions. ✔️ Avoid polyvinyl chloride (PVC) due to hazardous emissions. The research team includes some of the best minds in the industry including Randy, Fan, Maede, Chen, Raquel, and Nam at the National Center for Asphalt Technology at Auburn University, Yogesh(Yogi), Jean-Pascal, Jeramie, and Joe at Western Research Institute, CJ DuBois with Dow, and Gayle King. Congratulations to the team for advancing sustainable materials in infrastructure. This work successfully highlights the potential of recycled plastics to enhance asphalt pavement performance.

Hard truth about plastic recycling: We’ve been told for decades to “just recycle.” Put it in the blue bin and you’ve done your part. But here’s the reality: Globally, only about 9% of all plastic ever produced has been recycled. In the United States, the annual recycling rate for plastic is estimated at around 5–6%. Most plastic packaging — films, pouches, mixed materials — is either too contaminated, too complex, or simply too uneconomic to recycle. Much of it ends up in landfills or incineration despite good intentions. This isn’t a failure of individuals. It’s a design and market failure. If we are serious about climate, circularity, and resource efficiency, the strategy cannot rely on consumer sorting alone. The hierarchy is clear: Reduce Redesign Reuse Then recycle what truly has a market Recycling helps. But it is not the solution we were promised.

Only 10% of the plastic we manufacture gets recycled. We've been trying to solve this for a hundred years using the same mechanical and chemical tools that created the problem. What if biology—specifically, engineered enzymes—is the missing piece? In this episode of Just Now Possible, Teresa Torres talks with Arzu Sandıkçı (co-founder and CEO) and Mert Topcu (co-founder) of Rhea's Factory, a startup using engineered enzymes and AI to achieve what mechanical recycling can't: breaking plastic all the way back to its original molecular building blocks. Arzu brings a background in molecular biology and enzyme engineering. Mert brings 20 years in tech, including a decade at Google as a product manager. Together, they've built an AI platform that uses protein language models, multi-step agentic pipelines, and proprietary wet lab data to design novel enzymes that deconstruct plastic polymers into their original monomers—selectively, at low temperatures, and at industrial scale. You'll hear how they evolved from a human-orchestrated pipeline to an agentic AI scientist, why they sometimes want the model to hallucinate, and what it means to explore an enzyme design space that makes everything nature has ever evolved look like a tiny dot. Guests: - Arzu Sandıkçı – Co-founder & CEO, Rhea's Factory - Mert Topcu – Co-founder, Rhea's Factory In this episode: - Why only 10% of plastic gets recycled—and why mechanical and chemical methods hit a ceiling - How enzymatic recycling breaks plastic all the way back to its original monomers, unlike traditional methods that just shorten polymer chains - Why enzymes are selective: they can target specific plastic types even in mixed waste streams - The discovery of a plastic-eating bacteria in Japan that opened the door to enzymatic recycling - How AlphaFold and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry transformed what's possible in enzyme engineering - How Rhea's Factory uses protein language models (PLMs) and multi-step AI pipelines to design novel enzymes computationally - The evolution from a human-orchestrated pipeline to an agentic AI scientist - How guardrails at each pipeline step keep the AI pointed in the right direction without limiting exploration - Why wet lab data—even just hundreds of proprietary data points—can be enough to train a powerful domain-specific prediction model - Why Mert sometimes wants the model to hallucinate (and how high temperature settings help explore the full enzyme design space) - The business constraint: enzymatic recycling must compete economically with cheap, oil-based plastic production - What's next: a process agent, a 5,000-ton demo plant in California, and enzymes for new plastic types See the Resources and Links and Chapters in the comments. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or watch on YouTube. Spotify: https://buff.ly/17Jdg03 Apple Podcast: https://buff.ly/ILx7DvB Youtube: https://buff.ly/HfFsdVB

Chemical Recycling vs. Mechanical Recycling: What's the Difference? ♻️ Mechanical recycling: This is the process of reusing plastics by physically melting, reshaping, and reforming them into new products. It's like melting and remolding old plastic into a new shape. It's effective for certain plastics but can degrade the material over time. Major Points: ● Involves physical processes like sorting, shredding, and melting to reuse plastic waste. ● Commonly used for single polymer materials like PET bottles or HDPE containers. ● Can result in a loss of some material properties due to repeated processing. ● Limited in its ability to handle mixed or contaminated plastics effectively. ● Often used for closed-loop recycling within specific industries. 🔄 Chemical recycling: This innovative approach breaks down plastics at a molecular level, turning them back into their original building blocks. It's like "unzipping" plastics to create new, high-quality materials without the same degradation as mechanical recycling. It can handle a wider range of plastic types. Major points: ● Utilizes chemical processes to break down plastics into their molecular components. ● Can handle a wider range of plastics, including mixed or contaminated materials. ● Allows for the recovery of higher-quality materials closer to their original properties. ● Offers a potential solution for hard-to-recycle plastics, like multilayer packaging. ● Can complement mechanical recycling and address plastic waste that's currently incinerated or landfilled. Chemical recycling can tackle more types of plastic, including those that are traditionally harder to recycle. It can also handle contaminated plastics and produce higher-quality recycled materials. However, it's a newer technology and requires careful management to ensure environmental benefits. Choosing the right recycling method depends on the type of plastic, its condition, and the desired end product. #Recycling #Sustainability #PlasticWaste #CircularEconomy #innovation #technology #wastemanagement #plastics #sdgs

Today, both of these examples count equally in Europe’s plastic recycling statistics. One replaces wood, the other replaces virgin plastic. A park bench made from unsorted mixed plastics and a detergent bottle made from 95% sorted and recycled single-polymer plastic are both reported as “recycling.” Only the latter keeps plastics in the loop – resource-efficient and with a significantly lower climate impact compared to downcycling. Across Europe, we are still flooded with unsorted mixed plastics that can never supply the market with the high-quality recycled materials needed to meet the ambitious recycled-content targets set out in the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). High-quality recycling enabled by advanced sorting, polymer by polymer, is the only way to achieve true circularity for plastic packaging. We don’t just need more sorting capacity in Europe. We need to replace outdated systems with advanced sorting capable of delivering real circularity. As Europe now prepares the Circular Economy Act, it is crucial that future legislation and policy instruments promote advanced sorting as the foundation for high-quality recycling, not just higher recycling rates. Otherwise, we risk locking valuable materials into a linear system disguised as circularity. #CircularEconomy #PPWR #CircularEconomyAct #AdvancedSorting #SiteZero #HighqualityRecycling

Who killed plastic recycling in Europe? 🔍 By end of 2025, the EU will have lost almost 1 million tonnes of recycling capacity since 2023. The suspect list seemed obvious: ❌ EU regulations? ❌ NGOs campaigning against plastic pollution? ❌ Competition from other materials or systems? The real culprit: The petrochemical industry itself. Here's the absurd tragedy: The same industry that touts recycling as the solution to plastic pollution is accidentally destroying it through massive overproduction. What happened: China, the US and other oil producing countries all dramatically expanded petrochemical capacity. No coordination, just oversupply. Result: Virgin plastic prices crashed to artificially low levels => Real recycled plastic can't compete economically, despite being more environmentally sound. The double hit to EU taxpayers: We're subsidizing both the overproduction of virgin plastic via fossil-fuel subsidies AND recycling facilities that can't operate profitably. The paradox: The industry who spent millions lobbying about plastic's benefits and recycling solutions, then undermined the only solution they offered by flooding the market with cheap virgin material. The way forward? Without strong market intervention I don't see how European plastic production and/or recycling can survive long-term. The current patchwork of subsidies, deregulation and recycled content targets isn't enough. We need a new approach. The EU has an opportunity to create a well-functioning, climate-compliant plastics market. There is a way but, is there a will? What other solutions do you see to fix the oversupply of virgin plastic? For a full analysis read my substack entry: https://lnkd.in/ecCRBb8w #CircularEconomy #PlasticRecycling #CircularEconomyAct #Petrochemicals #PPWR #oversupply