RECImPET: A New Life for Waste

Involved in the RECImPET project to develop recycled materials from multilayer PET packaging waste through an innovative recycling alternative, based on a process that compatibilizes all materials without the need to separate the different layers.

The project focuses on optimizing formulations containing recycled multilayer PET to manufacture waterproof roofing membranes, footwear components, and toy parts, giving a new life to these wastes that are currently not recovered. In addition to Revestech, the project involves the company IBERresinas, researchers from the Instituto de Tecnología de Materiales (ITM) at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), and the AIJU Technological Institute for Children’s Products and Leisure. This project is based on a patent owned by UPV and AIJU for obtaining recycled material from pre-consumer and post-consumer multilayer PET packaging. RECImPET is funded by the Valencian Innovation Agency (AVI) as part of the strategic collaborative project program. This program supports the development of large R&D&I projects as a way to develop joint solutions to common challenges.

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Multilayer PET packaging represents one of the main waste streams among rigid food packaging that ends up in the yellow recycling bin. The composition of multilayer PET makes its mechanical recycling challenging. However, transforming this waste into raw material is essential for the planet’s sustainability. But is it feasible to recycle multilayer PET? And more importantly, is it possible to do so without separating the different layers of the material? A system is being developed to recover PET packaging waste through a mechanical process based on a previous patent. The results are applied in the footwear, toy, and construction sectors, processed through extrusion, injection, molding, and lamination. This recycling system is not a costly and environmentally harmful process, as it does not require delaminating the layers. The resulting material does not compete with PET but with polyolefins. More information about the project can be found at: https://www.aiju.es/proyectos/recimpet/