Thermoplastics recycling

Under the impetus of French and European legislation, the treatment of plastic waste has become a major concern for both manufacturers and consumers, who find themselves involved in the management of their waste through upstream sorting operations. The overall source of plastic waste is particularly complex, given the huge diversity of products on the market. Over the last ten years or so, we've seen the emergence of a real industrial activity, with its own technologies and constantly evolving. When setting up a recycling business, a number of technical and economic criteria must be taken into account. The aim of this article is to provide the reader with an overview of the current state of the art in the recycling of thermoplastic waste, including current economic data, a description of the criteria taken into account when starting up recycling operations, the various existing recovery channels and, above all, a detailed and critical description of the technologies applied. Cost data for the main processing unit operations are provided to give a clearer picture of the impact of processing technologies on the final cost of the recycled material. Examples of recycled products provide an overview of potential applications for recycled materials. Finally, the reader will find a list of organizations in charge of recycling plastic waste by industry sector, as well as basic literature on the subject.