Meaning
Industrial process of sorting, washing, shredding, and compounding post-consumer or post-industrial waste polymers into reusable resins. Moulders incorporate recycled resins into their production runs to reduce material costs and meet environmental goals. This process is essential for circular economy initiatives.
Sourcing Channel
This activity relies on collecting waste streams of polyethylene and polypropylene, which are then processed into clean flakes or pellets. The economics of polyolefin recycling are driven by the price difference between virgin and recycled resin. If the price of virgin resin is low, the demand for recycled resin decreases, squeezing the margins of recycling operations.
Contamination Management
The main challenge in this process is removing contaminants like paper labels, adhesives, and other polymer types that degrade the quality of the recycled resin. If these impurities are not removed, they can cause defects like black spots and structural failures in the moulded parts. Processors use advanced filtration systems to clean the polymer melt during extrusion.
Property Retention
Repeated processing cycles degrade the polymer chains, resulting in lower molecular weight and Melt Flow Rate Drift. To compensate for this loss of mechanical properties, compounders often blend recycled resin with virgin material or add chain extenders. This approach helps moulders achieve the required part performance while maximizing the use of recycled content.