According to the European Union's Agenda 2030, all plastic packaging must be recyclable or reusable by that date. Mechanical recycling arises as a core industrial process to meet these new requirements and regulations that are having a strong impact on the development of the plastic sector.
This process comprises several sequential operations -collection, sorting, washing, shredding, melting and reprocessing of plastic waste, aiming to get a secondary raw plastic material ready to be used again.Therefore, this plastic waste process of mechanical recycling offers a technically mature , economically viable and environmentally efficient route to retaining material value.
In this article, you will learn what mechanical recycling is, how the process of recycling works, why it matters for the recycling of plastic products, and how it compares with chemical recycling.
Mechanical recycling is a method of reprocessingplastic waste into reusable raw material without significantly changing the polymer structure. In simple terms, plastic is collected,sorted, cleaned, shredded, melted, and reprocessed so it can be used again in new applications.
This approach plays a central role in waste plastic recycling because it helps recover value from used plastics and reintroduce them into production cycles.
The result is a secondary raw material that can be used in the manufacture of new plastic products such as packaging, bags, construction materials, automotive components, and other everyday items.
As companies face growing pressure to improve sustainability and design packaging for circularity, mechanical plastic recycling has become a key strategy for turning waste into resources.
Keep learning: Advantages of recycling plastic packaging
Mechanical recycling of plastic products offers great advantages for the environment, avoiding the accumulation of waste, which is one of the biggest pollution problems worldwide.
In addition, this practice also brings advantages for communities and great benefits to companies that opt for recycled or recyclable products.
Let's look at themost important advantages that mechanical recycling of plastic materials provides to society, the planet and businesses.
One of the biggest advantages of waste plastic recycling is that it prevents used plastics from becoming long-term waste. Instead of ending their life after a single use, materials can return to the value chain and be converted into new products.
By replacing part of the demand for virgin raw materials, mechanical plastic recycling helps protect fossil-based resources and supports a more efficient use of materials.
In many cases, producing recycled plastic can require fewer resources than manufacturing virgin plastic from scratch. This makes the process of recycling especially relevant for companies aiming to reduce both environmental impact and production costs.
The method of recycling used in mechanical recycling involves collection, sorting, washing, reprocessing, and manufacturing. These activities support jobs, industrial development, and investment across the recycling value chain.
Perhaps the biggest benefit is that mechanical recycling makes circularity tangible. It turns used packaging into a resource, supports reuse of materials, and helps businesses move from a linear model to a circular one.
The process of recycling plastic through mechanical methods involves several stages. Each step is important to ensure the final recycled material is clean, consistent, and suitable for new applications
The first step in mechanical recycling is sorting plastic by resin type, color, format, and sometimes by application. Materials such as HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, and PP are typically separated to improve recycling quality.
This stage is critical because the better the sorting, the better the performance of the recycled material.
Once sorted, the plastic is reduced into smaller pieces. Shredding makes the material easier to handle and prepares it for the cleaning and reprocessing stages.
The shredded plastic is washed to remove impurities and contaminants.. Effective washing is essential in the recycling of plastic products, especially when the waste stream comes from post-consumer applications.
After washing, the material is dried until it reaches the controlled moisture level of 3-5% required for subsequent processing. This controlled drying helps maintain quality and improves efficiency during extrusion.
In the final stage, the clean and dry plastic flakes are melted and processed through an extruder. The molten plastic is then shaped into strands, cooled, and cut into pellets.
These pellets become the recycled raw material used in the production of new plastic goods. This is the stage where waste plastic recycling is converted into real industrial value.
Keep learning: Circular Packaging: the commitment to circular solutions in packaging
Both mechanical recycling and chemical recycling aim to recover value from plastic waste, but they do so in different ways.
The main difference lies in how the material is treated:
Mechanical recycling is often the preferred route when plastic waste is relatively clean, sorted, and technically suitable for reprocessing. It is a mature and widely used solution for many packaging streams.
Chemical recycling may be useful for more complex, mixed, or difficult-to-recycle plastic waste streams where mechanical routes are limited.
Rather than competing, both approaches can be complementary. A more circular plastics system will likely need both mechanical recycling and chemical recycling to improve recovery rates and reduce the amount of plastic that ends up as waste.
We could say that mechanical recycling is synonymous with circular economy.
If we consider its benefits for the environment, we will understand that it is a process that, by recycling waste and creating new materials that can be reused, drives a key benefit: business and environmental sustainability.
It also saves energy consumption and reduces emissions generated by refining and manufacturing processes.
Reduce, Recycle and Reuse are 3 essential pillars of the circular economy. And mechanical recycling is a widespread option that promotes these practices.
At APS we actively contribute to the development of circular solutions by participating in strategic initiatives such as the TRACEPACK PROJECT.
The project seeks to achieve the declassification of hazardous waste and its total integration into new packaging to promote the circular economy in the agrochemical sector. Get to know it!
By adopting mechanical recycling, companies can turn packaging waste into new opportunities and take a decisive step toward a more sustainable, resource-efficient future.
Find out our packaging solutions and be part of the circular economy!
