As we enter in 2025, our thoughts naturally turn to the future – thinking about social, economic and environmental friendly prospectives.
In Greenchemicals team, we’ve decided to kick off the year by tackling a “hot” topic: the sustainability of plastics.
We strongly believe plastic is in the end, an environmentally friendly material.
We can bring just few examples, people hardly think about: it’s a historical replacement for ivory (preventing the killing of many elephants), it’s a perfect replacement for many wood applications, it’s a fantastic insulating material, which allows saving energy, but also gives irreplaceable applications in medicine, food and the list could go ahead for many other cases…
The EU Parliament recently addressed the future of this material. A highlight during this event was: “plastics are indispensable to the European economy, with applications ranging from food preservation to automotive manufacturing. Yet, their environmental impact is undeniable. Transitioning to a circular plastics sector is critical to Europe’s circularity agenda.”
And, following the trend, the perspective is that plastics will stay. According to a recent OECD report, global production and use of plastics is projected to reach 736 million tonnes by 2040 – a 70% increase from 435 Mt in 2020.
So plastic won’t be reduced, or replaced by different materials, but it will simply growth, even more than in past.
To meaningfully discuss future scenarios and guide public and private intervention, we need to foster a deeper understanding of the polymer world.
Plastics: resource or threat?
Over the years, plastic has become synonymous with environmental pollution. While pollution has many sources, the image of a plastic bottle has become emblematic in our collective consciousness and environmental discourse.
Let’s be clear: this is a real problem, and we’re not trying to minimize its significance. Poor waste management has resulted in plastic islands in our oceans and microplastics in our food chain (a study from the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam revealed that almost 80% of meat and dairy products from farm animals contain microplastics).
However, these materials didn’t find their way into our waters, streets, or fields on their own. As public awareness grows about proper waste management and disposal, our environmental impact can be significantly reduced. Fortunately, we’re seeing positive trends in plastic recycling and related technologies.
New uses, new collection technology, new RECYCLING technology
When discussing plastic recycling, PET often comes to mind first. Countries like India, South Korea, and many in Europe are achieving recycling rates above 50%. This recycled material is increasingly used in clothing, carpets, and other textiles, alongside traditional applications like plastic bottles.
And innovation continues to expand, with developments like plastic roads – innovative pavements made from an asphalt-plastic mix, and 3D-printed products, including urban furniture, decorative items, and art installations.
Plastic recycling technology is moving very fast and new solutions for “hopeless” polymeric materials, pop up every day!
I would say that: if the material can be collected, it can be recycled!
At GC, we’re proud to contribute to these advances. We’ve developed and patented chemical-mechanical recycling technologies for HBCD-EPS boards and flame retardant plastics. We’ve also built the first PET depolymerization continuous plant, combining chemical and mechanical recycling to process dirty flakes directly from landfills. The result is OLPET, a polyester oligo-polyol with numerous applications in polyurethanes, adhesives, coatings, and paints.
We are using “chain-extension” technology”, to re-born mechanical properties in polyamide and polyester polymers.
We are studying tailor-made stabilization packages to protect recycled plastic from “recycling process step”.
We have developed a technology in combination with Universities, to remove smell from recycled plastic.
Our commitment to sustainability continues through ongoing research and development (as we’re doing with the European PLANETS project), including customized and eco-friendly solutions for specific company needs.
Governments worldwide are setting increasingly ambitious targets that will shape production in the near future. The EU’s plastics strategy, for instance, aims to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Climate Agreement objectives, and EU industrial policy goals.
Success in this arena requires a shared commitment from both the public and private sectors, coupled with a cultural paradigm shift. Hoping that new generations understand the value of these materials in our daily lives, seeking appropriate ways to use them rather than condemning them outright.
While walking on this common pathway, working for a better future, we are available to evaluate together new approaches and solutions for all types of polymers (XPS, EPS, PE, PU, PA, PC, PET etc).
Contact us now at info@greenchemicals.green
