cycleworks - Closing the loop PS Switzerland

Plastics have become an integral part of our everyday lives, but their use also has a massive impact on the environment. One promising solution for reducing these effects is material recycling. This is exactly where our exchange comes in: Since 2020, stakeholders along the entire value chain have been committed to a closed loop for polystyrene (PS) food packaging. At the "Closing the loop" round table [...]
ScreenFood research project - for safe food and packaging

As an associated partner, we are supporting the European research project "Metrology for Food Safety in the Circular Economy: Targeting and Screening Methods for Contaminants in Food and Recycled Packaging", or "Screen Food" for short, for three years. The project aims to make food and food contact materials safe in the long term. To this end, measurement methods for the detection of contaminants in food [...]
VOBU study "Specification for material recycling of EPS and XPS insulation materials"

Background According to the federal government's environmental targets, the proportion of secondary raw materials used should be massively increased by 2030. There is great potential in the construction industry for plastic insulation materials. In Switzerland, most of the plastic insulation waste consisting of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) is currently recycled thermally rather than materially. This is due to the [...]
Use of PS recyclate behind a functional barrier

The use of secondary materials in food packaging is a key element in the implementation of a circular economy for packaging. The use quotas for secondary materials required in other European countries make the use of recycled plastics necessary in the food sector too. However, this is associated with uncertainties regarding the quality of secondary polymers and the migration behavior of impurities. With the new regulation [...]
cycleworks - Plastics in construction

Background Plastics in construction It is impossible to imagine the construction industry without plastics. Their technical properties allow them to be used in a wide range of applications, through which they can make an important contribution to reducing environmental pollution. Around 23% of the 1 million tons of plastics consumed in Switzerland each year are used in the construction industry. But what happens to these plastics after [...]
Construction of closed circuits for food contact rPP (FCMrPP)

In our new, recently approved, Innosuisse project we are researching a closed loop for post-consumer food packaging made of polypropylene (PP) - together with our research partners, KATZ (Plastics Training and Technology Center) and the Institute for Technology Management of the University of St. Gallen (HSG-ITEM) and our industrial partners BASF Schweiz AG, Coop Genossenschaft, Emmi Schweiz AG, Greiner Packaging AG, InnoPlastics AG, Migros Industrie AG, Silac AG and Säntis Packaging AG. The project will start in October [...]
Mattress recycling for the circular economy

For the Mattress Alliance founded in 2021, realcycle is working on various sub-projects as part of a FOEN environmental technology funding project to increase the circularity of mattresses in Switzerland: Eco-Design sub-projectA sustainable circular economy starts with design. Only suitable design can ensure that resource consumption is minimized, longevity is ensured and an extension of the service life or [...]
Circular Economy for Polypropylene (CE4PP)

Polypropylene (PP) is one of the most important types of plastic used today. Unfortunately, it has not yet been possible to establish a closed cycle for PP food packaging. However, the latest investigations by realcycle GmbH (formerly REDILO GmbH) and the Plastics Training and Technology Center KATZ show promising results with regard to the technical possibilities. From this, clear requirements for a future collection and recycling system can be derived. In [...]
The future of separate collections of recyclable materials in Switzerland

The aim of the study was to show how the collection of waste materials in Switzerland should be designed in the future. Is there any ecological and economic potential at all for further (separate) collections in Switzerland? If so, what specific products and packaging are involved and how should these be prioritized? Because in the sense of the principle of eco- and impact efficiency [...]
Circoplast - Circular Construction Plastics

In Switzerland, more than 1 million tons of plastics are consumed annually, 22% of which are used by the construction industry. In order to extend the lifetime of these 220,000 tons of plastics, realcycle GmbH (formerly REDILO GmbH) has launched the Circoplast project. In cooperation with stakeholders from the construction and plastics industry, recycling companies and the [...]