中文Advanced mechanical recycling can produce flexible plastic recyclates suitable for 30% or more recycled content in demanding applications, including shrink films, labels, and pouches. That is the headline finding of a new report from the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, which offers a technical and economic roadmap for scaling recycling infrastructure ahead of tightening European regulations.
The report, titled “The Quest for Quality: Scaling Advanced Mechanical Recycling to Meet Recycled Content Targets for Flexibles,” assesses a conceptual 50,000-ton-per-year advanced mechanical recycling plant. It concludes that existing technologies, including sensor-based sorting, hot-washing, and double-melt filtration, can produce high-quality recyclates without requiring breakthrough innovations.
The findings are timely. The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) will require 35% post-consumer recycled content in non-food packaging by 2030. Flexible plastics, which include films, pouches, and labels, have historically been difficult to recycle because of multi-layer structures, contamination, and limited collection infrastructure. The new report suggests that advanced mechanical recycling can play a major role in closing the gap.
A key message is that chemical recycling and advanced mechanical recycling are complementary rather than competitive. Chemical recycling can handle the most complex or contaminated fractions that mechanical processes cannot process economically. Mechanical recycling, meanwhile, can deliver lower-carbon, lower-cost recyclates for cleaner waste streams. Each technology will target different parts of the flexible plastics waste stream.
The report identifies several systemic enablers needed to make advanced mechanical recycling commercially viable. Extended Producer Responsibility schemes are essential to fund collection and sorting. Mandated recycled content targets create stable demand for recyclates. Access to concessionary capital can help de-risk early projects. The report also recommends brownfield upgrades over greenfield construction and shifting complex sorting upstream to centralized plastics recovery facilities to reduce capital costs.
Jacob Duer, president and CEO of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, summarized the challenge: “The technology needed to produce high-quality recyclates already exists. The challenge now is scaling these solutions commercially through stronger alignment across the value chain.”
The report draws on learnings from the ValueFlex project, launched in 2022 by the Alliance, CEFLEX, Roland Berger, and HTP Engineering. Although the planned demonstration facility was not built due to changing macroeconomic and policy conditions, the project generated technical and economic data that is now publicly available through the report.
For the labels and packaging industry, the implications are significant. Labels and shrink films are specifically mentioned as applications that can incorporate 30% or more recycled content using advanced mechanical recyclates. This creates new possibilities for brand owners seeking to meet sustainability targets without sacrificing performance.
However, scaling will require coordination across the value chain. Brand owners need to design packaging that is compatible with recycling. Collectors and sorters need to capture flexible plastics separately from rigid plastics. Recyclers need consistent feedstock. Converters need confidence that recyclates will perform in their processes.
The report also touches on economics. Advanced mechanical recycling plants require substantial capital investment, and project returns depend on policy support, feedstock availability, and offtake agreements. Without stable demand signals, private investment may be slow to materialize.
For converters and printers, the report is a signal that recycled-content flexible packaging is moving from niche to mainstream. Equipment suppliers, ink manufacturers, and adhesive producers will need to ensure their products work reliably with recycled films. Quality control processes may need adjustment to account for greater variability in feedstock.
The broader context is a global push to reduce plastic waste and increase circularity. Europe is ahead of many regions in regulation, but similar trends are emerging in North America and Asia. Companies that master recycled-content flexible packaging early may gain a competitive advantage as regulations tighten and brand owners accelerate their sustainability commitments.
The Alliance to End Plastic Waste report does not claim that advanced mechanical recycling alone will solve the flexible plastics challenge. But it does make a credible case that the technology is ready, the economics are improving, and the policy environment is moving in the right direction. The next step is execution.
Source: Labels & Labeling The report is a call to action for an industry that must move from ambition to implementation within the next five years.
The report’s emphasis on brownfield upgrades is particularly relevant for the European recycling industry, where greenfield projects have faced delays due to permitting, financing, and uncertain feedstock supply. Upgrading existing facilities can reduce capital requirements and accelerate deployment. However, brownfield sites may also have constraints around space, emissions permits, and technology compatibility that need careful evaluation.
For printers and converters, the report suggests that demand for recycled-content flexible films will grow faster than supply in the near term. Companies that secure long-term offtake agreements with recyclers early may benefit from more stable pricing and guaranteed material availability. Those that wait may face higher costs or supply shortages as the 2030 regulatory deadline approaches.
