Dr Kreibich’s Visit
I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Dr. Kreibich for taking the time to speak at Babson College on May 8th, addressing the critical themes of green energy transformation and planning, the complex challenges of pursuing sustainability within economic constraints, and the insights into the European Union and global politics, including geopolitical tensions and international collaboration.
By learning about Germany’s deposit scheme, “Pfand,” which focuses on the recycling of single-use PET bottles, I resonated with the recycling of all types of waste plastic and its subsequent application. In Germany, mechanical recycling remains a prevalent method due to its cost-effectiveness and relatively simple process, which conserves the molecular structure of plastics. This method is particularly suitable for high-value plastics like PET and PS. Despite its economic advantages, it can gradually degrade the quality of the plastic. Before PET bottles get recycled, they can be cleaned and refilled 25 times. According to the graph from A Look at Germany’s Bottle Deposit Scheme, once single-use bottles are collected in stores, they’re shredded and turned into pellets to be made into new plastic bottles (34%), plastic sheet and film (27%), textiles fibers (27%), or other plastic objects (16.5%), such as detergent containers.
EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUP) sets an ambitious target that by 2025, at least 77% of post-consumer PET bottles must be collected, and PET drinks bottles will be required to contain at least 25% recycled plastic from 2025 and 30% recycled plastic from 2030 (WasteTrade, 2024). These regulatory measures are significant in driving innovation and investment in recycling technologies, including chemical recycling. Chemical recycling of plastics is a cutting-edge topic about sustainability, converting waste plastics back into crude oil or recyclable plastics for reuse through advanced processes like pyrolysis or gasification and reducing the reliance on virgin materials. Currently, the chemical recycling of waste plastics focuses on PP, PE, and PS. Although PET bottles account for a small portion of the research and development phase, it still presents a promising future for comprehensive waste management solutions and achieving sustainability!
