Search Results (436)

The increase in environmental impacts associated with non-recyclable flexible plastic packaging underscores the need for sustainable alternatives. This work presents a new paper-based laminate containing cellulose, ethylene-vinyl alcohol (EVOH), and an anaerobic degradation additive (ECO-ONE^®) to replace existing trilaminate plastics for dry food applications. The hybrid package maintains consistent mechanical performance compared to conventional structures while improving barrier properties: oxygen transmission rate decreased from 35.38 ± 2.1 to 0.56 ± 0.05 cm³/m²/day (0% RH), and water vapor transmission rate decreased from 4.85 to 1.22 g/m²/day. The hybrid structure uses 37% less virgin resin and reduces adhesive/solvent use by 50%. Life cycle assessment indicates a 47% reduction in environmental impact. Approximately 85–90% of waste avoidance is attributable to reduced virgin plastic and adhesive use, with 10–15% attributable to end-of-life treatment. This study presents a practical transitional alternative for dry food packaging applying circular economy principles. Full article

The mechanical recycling of mono-material biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) packaging films produces recycled polypropylene (rPP) with degraded properties, limiting its use in higher-performance applications. This study investigates rPP reinforcement with 6–12 µm microcellulose fibres (MCFs, 2–10 pbw) and microcellulose-derived biochar (BC, 5–20 pbw), characterized by DSC, TGA/DTG, MVR/MFR, temperature-dependent rheology, mechanical testing and water contact angle (WCA) measurements. Both fillers acted as heterogeneous nucleating agents, shifting crystallization by up to 4 °C and increasing crystallinity by 2–4%. MCF introduced an additional low-temperature degradation step, whereas BC increased onset and peak degradation temperatures by up to 20 °C and increased char yield. Low MCF loadings increased MVR/MFR by 20–25% and reduced melt viscosity, while BC decreased flow indices by up to 50% and stiffened the melt. Tensile and flexural moduli increased by 15–25% with MCF and 40–50% with BC, with a stiffness–toughness trade-off at the highest BC contents. MCF reduced the water contact angle to 63.0° at 10 pbw, while BC increased it to 108.1° at 20 pbw, indicating opposite effects on surface wettability. Converting a single cellulosic feedstock into fibrous or carbonised fillers enables bio-based upgrading of rPP, in line with circular economy principles. Full article

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is among the most used plastics in domestic and industrial applications, particularly packaging, food containers and textiles. However, its recalcitrance to decomposition and biodegradation mostly results in landfilling and accumulation of PET waste in the environment if not processed. Chemical recycling of PET via selective depolymerization into its monomers may represent a pivotal step in the development of a truly circular economy of PET, which is still limited by economic and environmental sustainability issues. In this work, the depolymerization of PET is reported using ZnO as an insoluble catalyst, and ethanol as both a lytic agent and green solvent. A detailed investigation of reaction parameters, including reaction temperature, time and catalyst loading, showed that complete conversion of PET to diethyl terephthalate (DET) can be achieved with 92.5% selectivity at 180 °C and 48 h, with the potential for full DET selectivity at longer reaction times. The solid catalyst could be recovered and reused by simple centrifugation, with no loss of conversion or selectivity over three consecutive reuses. Full article

The management of plastic packaging waste needs to be optimized to improve recycling rates. In this article, fourteen categories of non-bottle polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packages were mechanically recycled at laboratory bench scale; the generated data were assessed using a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach to identify the categories most suited for the mechanical recycling process from social, technical and legislative viewpoints. Recycling yields varied between 75% and 92% across the 14 categories. The intrinsic viscosity (IV) values of the produced recycled PET (rPET) corresponded to molecular weights ranging from 28,000 to 35,000 g/mol. The MCDA recyclability assessment showed that 7 of the 14 categories (accounting for 72% of the sorted products by mass flow) are often composed of multiple, inseparable materials, resulting in the lowest-quality rPET. Furthermore, only 4 categories (approximately 28% of the categories) were found suitable for closed-loop mechanical recycling. The stakeholders involved in the PET packaging value chain could use these results to support decision-making and the development of a well-organized framework to valorize even the most complex types of plastic waste. Full article

This study investigates the development of high-strength biofiber cement boards with enhanced thermal insulation properties by utilizing recycled biofibers derived from cement packaging bags, combined with a water-based adhesive to enhance the curing efficiency of Portland cement through a cementation–curing process. This approach reduces waste from cement packaging and other biofiber residues through recycling, thereby promoting environmental sustainability. Moreover, it does not require the use of additional chemicals for the disposal or treatment of fiber waste, nor does it require the incineration of biofiber waste. Recycled biofiber from cement bags, composed primarily of cellulose (60 wt%), lignin (15 wt%), and hemicellulose (10 wt%), serves as a reinforcing phase, while the cement and adhesive mixture functions as a strong binding matrix. The fabrication of composite materials using undamaged cement bag fibers preserves fiber integrity and enables a well-ordered one-dimensional (1D) fiber alignment, which promotes more effective reinforcement than two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) orientations, in accordance with the rule of mixtures. In addition, the incorporation of a water-based PVAc adhesive accelerates the curing rate of the cement phase, promoting the formation of a strong interconnected network structure, and facilitates a more complete curing process. The physical, mechanical, chemical, and thermal properties of the biofiber cement boards were evaluated in accordance with relevant industrial standards, including TISI 878:2023, BS 874, ASTM C1185, ASTM D570, ASTM C518, ISO 8301, and JIS A1412. The results indicate that an optimal cement mortar to water-based adhesive ratio of 1:2, combined with an increased number of biofiber sheet layers, significantly enhances material performance, particularly in Formulas (7)–(9). Among these, Formula (9) exhibits the lowest water absorption (0.0835 ± 0.0102%), the highest tensile strength (19.489 ± 0.670 MPa), the highest flexural strength (20.867 ± 2.505 MPa), the highest Young’s modulus (5735.068 ± 387.032 MPa), and low thermal conductivity (0.152 W/m.K). The resulting boards demonstrate strong bonding ability, enhanced resistance to fire, moisture, and weathering, and a longer service life compared to lower cement-to-adhesive ratios (1:1 and 1:0). These findings demonstrate the potential of recycled biofiber composites, combined with water-based adhesives, as sustainable alternative materials for thermal insulation and structural applications, including ceilings and walls in building construction. Full article

The recycling of pesticide packaging waste is crucial for the sustainable development of agriculture and the advancement of ecological civilization. However, the current recycling management still faces challenges. This study adopts a dynamic analytical framework of “ex-ante behavioral cognition and post-event outcome perception” to investigate the impact of digitalization on farmers’ recycling behavior of pesticide packaging waste. The analysis draws on data from the 2020 China Rural Revitalization Survey and examines two dimensions of digitalization: digital technology access and digital technology usage. The findings indicate that integrating digital technologies into farming practices significantly increases the likelihood of farmers participating in pesticide packaging waste recycling programs. These results remain robust after conducting robustness checks and addressing potential endogeneity issues. A heterogeneity analysis reveals that the promotional effect of digitalization varies significantly across different categories of rural elite status, cooperative membership, education level, pesticide spraying methods, and income structure. Mechanism testing further indicates that hazard cognition regarding pesticide packaging serves as a mediating factor in the impact of both digital technology access and usage on farmers’ recycling behavior. In contrast, farmers’ satisfaction with their living environment mediates only the effect of digital technology usage on recycling behavior. Overall, these findings provide both theoretical and empirical support for the hypothesis that digitalization can facilitate the recycling of pesticide packaging waste and enhance the ecological effectiveness of agricultural policy governance. Full article

The minimisation of substances of concern in packaging is a key objective of the European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), complementing existing legislation governing the safety of food contact materials. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) present particular challenges due to their persistence, chemical diversity, and documented use in certain food contact materials. Article 5 of the PPWR requires packaging to be designed and manufactured to minimise such substances throughout the life cycle. This study develops a structured, material-based PFAS risk matrix to support compliance screening for food packaging under Article 5. The approach combines scientific evidence on PFAS occurrence, functional applications, and analytical detection with material classification systems used in recyclability assessments. Packaging materials are categorised by their likelihood of PFAS relevance, enabling proportionate prioritisation of efforts. Application of the matrix shows that fibre-based materials with grease- or water-resistant treatments exhibit higher relevance than glass, untreated paper, or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The framework also clarifies the role of total fluorine (TF) and extractable organic fluorine (EOF) as supportive, material-specific indicators rather than standalone compliance metrics. By integrating PFAS considerations into design, sourcing, and portfolio management, the framework promotes proactive chemical risk governance aligned with circular economy objectives. Full article

Distributed recycling of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) into filament for use in material extrusion 3D printing has been proposed as part of a circular economy. There is a gap in the understanding of the potential for HDPE to release contaminants that are potentially hazardous to human health during reuse. Herein, HDPE from post-consumer packaging waste was sorted into food and non-food (NF) streams and virgin HDPE was taken as a benchmark material. All materials were extruded into filaments and recycled multiple times while monitoring emissions. In general, particle and organic chemical emissions decreased by 93 to 99% and 73 to 99%, respectively, with increased reprocessing cycle without appreciable decline in mechanical (Young’s modulus decreased by 5 to 16%), processability (melt flow index stable from 0.2 to 0.7 g/10 min for waste plastics), and thermal properties (crystallinity ranged from a 6% decrease to a 9% increase) of plastics. An exception was a sub-stream of NF plastic that had increased particle emissions (up to 3100%) with reprocessing cycle. Reductions in emissions during filament extrusion appeared to be more influenced by reprocessing cycle than by any specific process step (grinding, etc.). The progressive decline in emissions without appreciable loss of polymer integrity could be exploited to pre-condition HDPE to reduce potential hazardous emissions prior to extruding into filament. This work helps fill the knowledge gap on approaches to recycling plastics in distributed settings such as home-based businesses, which is critical for developing effective recommendations for controls to enable safe work practices such as the use of ventilation to minimize exposures. Full article

With the rapid development of smart devices for body area networks and smart packaging, there is a significant demand for low-waste and low-impact electronic systems in industries such as healthcare and transportation. We demonstrate that the dielectric material from capacitors in resistor-inductor-capacitor (RLC) wireless, chipless, resonant temperature sensors can be successfully recovered from flexible PCBs, with pristine sensors re-introduced to the tag’s sensor loading. First, we demonstrate that replacing the dielectric in a parallel plate capacitor with a pristine component, with recycled electrodes and sub-miniature-A (SMA) adaptor, results in only a 3% change in broadband capacitance. An identical substitution of the sensing element in an RLC circuit tuned to resonate at 21.0 MHz, with recycled parallel plates, a resistor, and an inductive PCB coil, results in a change of only 7.6% in the resonant frequency of the tag to 19.4 MHz. This work demonstrates the recyclability of chipless tags for temperature sensing for the first time, offering sustainability gains in smart packaging applications, with the potential to be expanded to other sensing tags for pH, humidity, and chemical analytes, towards chipless product passports. Full article

The deinking of plastic packaging waste offers the potential of decreasing contamination and thus increasing the overall quality of recycled plastics, enabling their use in more demanding applications. However, for flexible polyethylene packaging waste, deinking is not yet implemented on an industrial scale and there is currently no objective methodology to evaluate the deinking effect on those inhomogeneous flakes. In this study, a novel approach for the objective assessment of ink removal on flexible post-consumer waste (PCW) is proposed. Via an image-based analysis, the transparency of the flakes is transformed into the 8-bit grey scale, and the deinking efficiency of several experiments is compared via the skewness and median of grey value distributions. The method is compared to the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) Lab-method and its robustness against wrinkles and overlaps is critically discussed. Using this analysis method enables the investigation of the general behaviour of contaminated PCW materials in deinking and identifies the most effective parameters for ink removal on inhomogeneous flakes. Full article

Polylactide (PLA) has become widely adopted across biomedical, packaging, and manufacturing sectors due to its biodegradability and renewable sourcing. However, the rapid growth in PLA consumption has created urgent challenges related to waste management and the cleaning of processing equipment. This study investigates glycolysis as a promising chemical depolymerization pathway for PLA recycling and in situ reactor cleaning. A systematic analysis of four glycolysis agents (GA) (ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol, and glycerol) was performed across molar PLA:GA ratios from 1:0.125 to 1:4 at 220 °C, targeting the efficient conversion of high-molecular-weight PLA (Mn ≈ 165 kDa) into low-molecular-weight oligomers. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) demonstrated that propylene glycol exhibited the highest depolymerization efficiency, yielding oligomers with Mn as low as 200 g·mol⁻¹ even at minimal glycolysis agent ratios, while glycerol produced hydroxyl-rich oligomers optimal for subsequent lactide synthesis. Hydroxyl value (HV) measurements showed excellent agreement with theoretical values (<5% deviation), allowing us to make an assumption about an approximate, close to near-quantitative con-version. Glycolysis products with Mw below 400 g·mol⁻¹ displayed excellent water solubility, making them particularly attractive for reactor cleaning applications. Using glycerol-derived (GL) oligomers (PLA:GL = 1:0.25), purified L-lactide with a melting point of 98.1 °C and high purity (>99%) was obtained through thermocatalytic depolymerization and five recrystallization cycles, as confirmed by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses. The recovered lactide’s high purity renders it suitable for ring-opening polymerization, enabling closed-loop PLA recycling schemes. Overall, glycolysis emerges as a highly promising chemical recycling route complementary to hydrolysis and pyrolysis: propylene glycol maximizes depolymerization efficiency for cleaning applications, while glycerol optimizes oligomer functionality for lactide recovery and advanced material synthesis. Our results provide practical guidelines for selecting glycolysis agents and conditions for cleaning and recycling applications. Full article

Multilayer plastic packaging waste (MPPW) represents a major challenge for waste management due to its widespread use in single-use applications and its complex, heterogeneous structure. Variations in polymer composition, layer thickness and number of layers significantly hinder conventional recycling processes, leading most MPPW to be disposed of through landfilling or incineration. This study presents the development and optimization of a dissolution–precipitation process using toluene to recover polyethylene (PE) from MPPW. The proposed method successfully produced PE with less than 5 wt% polypropylene (PP), meeting common recycling quality requirements. Design of experiments (DoEs) combined with response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to evaluate the influence of key operating parameters, including temperature, dissolution time, solvent to waste ratio and agitation speed, to identify optimal processing conditions. The results demonstrated that temperature had the most significant influence on both dissolution yield and polymer purity. Optimal conditions of 100 °C, 30 min, 400 rpm, and a solvent-to-waste ratio of 15 mL/g resulted in a total recovery yield of 39.1% with a polymer composition of 97.7 wt% PE and 2.3 wt% PP. Owing to the use of established and scalable unit operations, the process shows strong potential for industrial-scale implementation without requiring complex or specialized infrastructure. Full article

The transition toward a circular economy is essential for reducing the environmental impacts of post-consumer packaging waste. In Colombia, the Circular Vision Collective operates a nationwide Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system for packaging recovery and recycling. This study applies a life cycle assessment (LCA), in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards, to evaluate the environmental performance of the Circular Vision system during 2024. Using a functional unit of one metric ton of post-consumer packaging, three scenarios were assessed: landfill disposal, circular management and transformation, and avoided impacts from virgin material substitution. Seven packaging material streams were analyzed using SimaPro 9.6 and the Ecoinvent 3.10 database, supported by primary operational data. The results show that the circular management system delivers net environmental benefits across all evaluated impact categories, achieving reductions exceeding 10% in key indicators, such as global warming potential, energy demand, and resource use, particularly for plastics, metals, and paper-based materials. Full article

This study presents an integrated Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) approach to select the most suitable sustainable packaging for logistics operations under uncertainty. The aim of this study is to identify the most suitable eco-friendly packaging options for reducing packaging waste, by considering several criteria. The methodology combines the SWARA and TOPSIS methods within a Fermatean Fuzzy Set (FFS) framework to address the ambiguity in expert evaluations and the qualitative nature of decision-making criteria. The research considers various sustainable packaging alternatives, including recycled cardboard, recycled plastic, biodegradable plastic, and compostable plastic, while incorporating criteria such as production cost, environmental impact, reusability, and material specifications. The approach offers a robust and comprehensive decision-making tool for companies aiming to improve sustainability in their logistics operations while mitigating the environmental impact of packaging waste. The results demonstrate that the direct incorporation of fuzzy numbers notably influences the ranking outcomes compared to traditional methods, and comparing the considered approach with different MCDM methods yields various recommendations for sustainable packaging selection. Full article

This paper analyzes the evolution of packaging waste recycling rates in four Central and Eastern European EU Member States—Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Romania—in comparison with the EU-27 average over the period 2014–2023. The analysis is based on Eurostat data on total packaging waste recycling rates (percentage of generated waste recycled) and employs a linear trend model estimated for the EU-27, which is used as a reference trajectory. This reference trend does not aim to predict future recycling rates or to validate absolute national performance levels; rather, it serves as an analytical benchmark for assessing the relative convergence or divergence of national trajectories over time. Descriptive statistics and linear regression techniques are applied to characterize long-term tendencies and year-to-year dynamics, including potential disruptions during the 2020–2021 period. The results indicate that the EU-27 recycling rate remains high and relatively stable (average 78.7%), albeit with a slight downward trend (−0.44%) across the analyzed interval. Poland and Bulgaria record overall improvements relative to their initial levels, while Hungary—and particularly Romania—exhibit declining trends and persistent negative gaps compared to the EU-27 benchmark. Poland stands out by surpassing the EU-27 average after 2019, reporting exceptionally high recycling rates in several years, whereas Romania consistently records the largest deviation, with an average gap exceeding 20% in the later period. These findings reveal substantial heterogeneity in the implementation of EU packaging waste policies and highlight the need for targeted, country-specific interventions in Member States facing structural constraints in recycling capacity and collection systems. Full article