Free Recycling Whitepaper
Circularity in Packaging and the Role of Mechanical Recycling
The circular economy seeks to reclaim manufactured products, turning them back into raw materials to produce new, similar products.
Mechanical recycling is a key component of the circular economy for packaging. The process of circularity in packaging materials is a product of multiple factors:
- Availability of recycling services for businesses and consumers.
- Location of Materials Recovery Facilities and/or commercial recycling plants in proximity to packaging manufacturing mills.
- Rates of packaging materials recycling and reentry into circularity varies by specific material manufacturing processes.
- Value of recovered packaging material and expense of preparation for recycling influences the decision on whether to recycle, dispose in landfills or incinerate.
- The packaging material recycling rate is highest for old corrugated containers, followed (in descending order) by aluminum cans, steel cans, glass containers, and plastic bottles.
In this paper you can learn about:
- Circularity and the circular economy
- Packaging materials such as aluminum cans, steels, glass, paper and cardboard, and plastics
- Recycling rates for different materials
- The value of different recyclable materials
