EU-backed ReBioCycle project demonstrates closed-loop recycling of PLA from mixed plastic waste

The useful part

Plastic Recycling Go deeper with GlobalData The gold standard of business intelligence. Find out more Discover B2B Marketing That Performs Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms. Find out more It can then be chemically reduced to lactic acid and converted again into high-quality PLA with the same properties as virgin material.

How it works

• The sorting stage was completed at pilot scale in an operating environment, indicating that PLA recycling can work outside laboratory conditions.
• In work involving industrial partners Torwash and TotalEnergies Corbion, the consortium said PLA was first sorted with existing technologies to purity levels suitable for additional processing.
• TotalEnergies Corbion then showed that this recovered lactic acid could be repolymerised into recycled PLA with properties equal to virgin material.
• The next stage will centre on developing and testing new uses for recycled PLA, while continuing work to expand the process towards full industrial deployment.
• Find out more Access deeper industry intelligence Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.

What to take from it

The project said this creates a practical route for bringing bioplastics into current waste collection and recycling systems, as companies face tighter requirements under the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, which states that all packaging must be recyclable by 2030. The recovered material was then converted into lactic acid, its main chemical component, through Torwash's hydrolysis process. The technologies used can fit into existing infrastructure, helping to ease implementation while aligning with wider European policy aims under the Green Deal and Bioeconomy Strategy.

Details worth keeping

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