For more than two decades, Erema’s Laserfilter has been used to remove contaminants from polyolefin melt streams. A year ago, the company released a PET version, and the market interest has been strong, according to the Austria-headquartered company.
Electronics and appliances present an attractive source for reclaimed plastics, but technical challenges can often inhibit recovery. Many of the e-plastics are black, which can make separation by polymer difficult.
By examining both transmissive and reflective light from objects, the ColorPlus-R optical sorter is able to identify the color of opaque objects, including black plastics.
Equipment from Dutch company Bollegraaf Recycling Solutions goes fishing at the head of the stream to remove films.
A European panel approved the use of two technologies to recycle post-consumer PET into food and drink packaging, but it rejected a third application, citing inadequate decontamination testing.
One of the world’s largest consumer packaged goods companies will roll out a black plastic HDPE bottle that near-infrared sorters can identify.
The final stamp of approval has been given to a European Union law banning certain single-use plastic products, setting high bottle collection targets and requiring recycled content in bottles.
A project is exploring the use of chemistry to recycle polyurethane foam from a variety of durable goods into higher-end applications.
European Union leaders appear to have settled on a limit for trace amounts of flame retardants in recycled plastics. A reclaimer called the limit “workable,” but activists say it’s not nearly restrictive enough.
Multinational oil and gas company MOL Group will acquire a German recycled plastics compounder.