Recycling

Since it is technically and economically impossible to reduce the amount of plastic waste in oceans, solutions to cut the entry of such substances into the environment must be developed. Developing countries, however, often lack land-based approaches to such solutions.

The goal of this project is to set up a markerbased system for sorting and recycling that involves every stage from packaging development and sorting technology to high quality material reuse. The MaRek project demonstrates the usefulness of fluorescent markers for waste management applications.

solvoPET aims to develop a solvolytic recycling process for materials made of PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) in multilayer or mixed materials and to carry out experimental trials. Inactive patents for solvolysis of single-variety PET waste form the basis for this research: those solvolytic processes will be enhanced into a continuous waste treatment concept that can recycle PET waste.