Closing the loop in the plastic lifecycle

Plastics are now a staple and a major source of garbage in our lives, but the family of materials known as plastics is very diverse.

A proper plastic recycling process in its entirety is very challenging due to some technical barriers, such as the presence of complex fractions in the waste streams including contaminants or multilayer materials, or the mix of plastics with other types of wastes that cannot be sorted in a feasible way.

This situation implies a high environmental impact when plastic waste is landfilled or incinerated, so new solutions other than mechanical recycling must be developed to significantly increase the amount of plastics being valorized into new feedstocks. PLASTICE was conceived to solve this need by developing a set of new valorization processes that are aligned with the most relevant roadmaps of chemical recycling technologies at European level.

LEARN MORE about the project discover the 4 demo-sites

The project develops technologies to integrate plastic waste in the circular economy.

Cascade enzymatic hydrolysis

Combined gasification and chemical post- treatment

Hydrothermal liquefaction

Microwave assisted pyrolysis

Latest updates

All news & events

IITAS 2023 – International Izmir textile and apparel symposium

EVENT

25-27 October, 2023 | Izmir, Turkey

Europe and the world at a crossroads: plastic recycling takes center stage

PROJECT NEWS

Recycling rates in Europe currently hover around 30%, highlighting the imperative for more efficient recycling processes and infrastructure.

Artificial intelligence for smarter recycling: the plastics pollution challenge

ARTICLE

In 2019 only 9% of world plastics was recycled, and 50% still buried in landfills. With pollution growing dramatically, AI-powered robots are being tested to improve the sorting process and cut its carbon footprint. Experts stress the potential of the new technologies, but issue a call to industry players: “For this innovation to be effective, we need your support”