Press releases

The odor of recycled plastics is a major challenge for their recycling and requires customized solutions. Recyclates can have undesirable odors that come from various sources, such as microbiological degradation or residues of previous contents. This is precisely where the Fraunhofer CCPE compact on December 5, 2024, on the topic of “Emission and odor optimization in plastics and recyclates” comes in. Prof. Andrea Büttner, Board of Management Member of the Fraunhofer CCPE and Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, provides initial answers to key questions in this interview.

Recycling is resource protection. This is confirmed by the study published today by Fraunhofer UMSICHT on behalf of Interzero. In 2023, the circular economy service provider Interzero avoided a total of 1.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by recycling around 2.5 million tonnes of recyclable materials. At the same time, Interzero was able to save over 11.1 million tonnes of primary resources together with its customers. In order for the transformation to a circular economy to succeed, new cycles must also be established for material groups that were previously neglected.

What topics are currently important for the circular economy Prof Dr. Manfred Renner, Head of the Fraunhofer Cluster Circular Plastics Economy CCPE, talks about the current challenges and opportunities. From necessary guidelines, like the national circular economy strategy, to the importance of multi-stakeholder cooperation, such as the Circular Valley Convention in Düsseldorf in March 2025.

The sense of smell, often underestimated, plays an important role in our daily lives. In the circular economy, particularly in recycling, odor is a significant issue. Often, foul-smelling recyclates make the recycling process more challenging. This is where the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE comes in, developing various strategies to reduce odors in plastic recyclates.

For the first time, the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE will present the topic ‘Sustainable Geosynthetics for Landscaping’ at ACHEMA 2024 alongside the topic ‘Advanced Recycling’. We cordially invite you to visit us at the trade fair in Frankfurt (Hall 6.0 – Research and Innova-tion | Booth D49).

There is a growing demand for information on the environmental impact of the use of recycled plastic. However, publications and reliable data are rare. Now is the time for industry, academia and policy makers to share ideas and reach a consensus on how to model the environmental impact of recycled plastics. This is exactly where the Fraunhofer CCPE compact on 20 June 2024 on "Impacts of recycled plastics – A stakeholder approach to find consensus in LCA" comes in. Dr Anna Kerps and Tanja Fell give us an initial insight in this interview.

The VDMA and the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE are presenting the Chemical Recycling Spotlight Area at IFAT. Technologies for the recycling of plastics that can complement established mechanical processes will be presented, including solvent-based processes, solvolysis, pyrolysis and gasification.

Life cycle assessments are often used as a basis for decision-making when selecting environmentally friendly processes, input materials or services for plastics recycling. But what does a comparable and transparent ecological assessment that meets different requirements look like? Fraunhofer CCPE researchers have identified ten challenges and ten requirements that increase comparability and transparency in the ecological assessment of plastics recycling.

Elastomers can be found in many products and areas of application. In addition to their use in tires, many technical products such as seals, tubes, cable sheathing, gloves and much more are made from elastomers. Apart from used tires, which are collected and recycled separately, the recycling of elastomers is hardly possible in many cases, either economically or technically. New approaches and initial solutions for circular elastomers will be presented at our next Fraunhofer CCPE compact "Elastomers - Advanced technologies for recycling" on April 25, 2024 from 10 am to 12 pm.