How Plastic Recycling Works

Plastic recycling plays a central role in reducing waste and dependence on virgin materials - but it’s also one of the most technically complex parts of the circular economy. Plastics come in many forms, often mixed, dyed, or layered, which makes separating and processing them far from straightforward. Yet, as new technologies and EU policies evolve, better systems are beginning to take shape.

Similarly to textile recycling, as discussed in our previous post, several types of plastic recycling exist - each with its own advantages, limitations, and environmental trade-offs.

The most common is mechanical recycling, where plastics are sorted, cleaned, shredded, and melted into pellets for new products. This method works best for simple, single-type plastics such as PET bottles. However, each cycle slightly reduces the material’s quality - polymers break down, colour can fade, and additives accumulate, limiting how many times the same plastic can be reused.

Chemical recycling breaks plastics down into their molecular building blocks - returning materials like polyester or polyethylene to their basic components. These can then be used to create new plastics almost as good as virgin ones. This technology can handle mixed or contaminated waste that mechanical systems struggle with, but it remains energy-intensive and expensive to scale.

Some specialised processes, such as solvent-based purification, target very specific polymers. They remove impurities and dyes without fully breaking the material down, preserving quality - but these systems require high investment and careful waste-stream management. Other advanced approaches, such as feedstock recycling, convert plastic into oil or gas that can be reintroduced into production, though their environmental performance depends strongly on process efficiency.

After any recycling process - whether mechanical, chemical, or advanced - the goal remains the same: to give plastic a second life. Each recovered batch keeps valuable materials in circulation and reduces the need for virgin production. The effectiveness of recycling depends on how well materials are designed, collected, and sorted - areas where innovation is advancing rapidly across Europe.

A key part of improving recycling lies in better product design - reducing unnecessary additives, using single-material packaging, ensuring that products are labelled and traceable, as well as  making materials easier to identify, separate, and reuse. As highlighted in our earlier posts, new European rules, including the upcoming Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and Digital Product Passports, aim to make this a reality by setting clear standards for durability and recyclability.

At RMP, we view plastic recycling as an evolving system that connects global innovation with local opportunity. Technologies developed elsewhere in Europe can often be adapted to the Baltic context, where smaller production scales allow for flexible, efficient solutions. Our role is to understand these technologies, identify where they fit, and help strengthen the regional recycling ecosystem.