Mechanical Recycling of Segregated Plastic Streams
Sorting and mechanical recycling of plastic collection bags to develop a closer material loop into new bags.
The value chain links collection and separation with cleaning, shredding, recycling, compounding and bag manufacture. The quality of the recovered polymer must be compatible with the requirements of the receiving manufacturing process. The existing external-recyclate route and the proposed household-bag loop have different feedstock contexts.
Recyclate contamination, sorting losses, product-quality requirements and data availability constrain the closed loop. A generic virgin-plastic baseline is not representative of all current operations.
The North Black Forest pilot examines how plastic collection, sorting, recycling and manufacturing can be connected into a more circular regional value chain. One application is the production of yellow collection bags using recycled plastic. The existing supply route uses recycled material sourced from factories and warehouses, while the pilot explores a loop in which used household collection bags can contribute material to new bags.
The value chain includes collection, separation, cleaning, shredding, recycling, compounding and quality control before the recycled material is converted into a new product. These steps need to be coordinated because the properties of the collected waste influence the quality and processing suitability of the secondary material. The proposed household-bag loop therefore requires assessment of both waste-stream characteristics and manufacturing requirements.
Regional work involves the INNONET network and industrial actors including REMONDIS and Infinex. Existing collection infrastructure provides the regional context, with different arrangements for bags, bins, recycling centres and commercial waste. Workshops, process mapping and data collection support the identification of feasible links between actors. The pilot is developing and validating these circular configurations, with data availability and processing compatibility remaining important implementation considerations.
The circular objective is to retain plastic material in productive use by connecting recovery operations with manufacturing demand for secondary polymers. The assessment distinguishes the existing use of externally sourced recyclate from the proposed return of used collection bags into bag production.
Material losses, reject fractions, preparation requirements and the quality of the recovered polymer influence the achievable circularity. Process mapping and operational data are therefore needed to assess a complete recycling loop, rather than treating the presence of recycled content as evidence that a regional closed loop has already been established.