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The world of plastics recycling is fast-evolving as we rapidly shift towards a more closed loop plastics economy. As a sustainability leader, Milliken recently conducted an industry-wide survey of attendees at the 2022 Plastics Recycling Conference in Washington D.C. to gauge this landscape and its continuing evolution. Most of the respondents were directly engaged in plastics recycling, with just over 20% being converters of recycled plastics.

The survey found that although most organizations worked with a variety of plastics, including PET, HDPE, LDPE and polystyrene, the material utilized most, by a large margin, was polypropylene or PP, with 85% of respondents answering positively. PP has become a frontrunner in the packaging sustainability stakes with a low carbon footprint, lightweight and recyclability. Recycling of PP is further enhanced by additives such as Milliken’s DeltaMax®, that provides converters with significant improvements in their products and processes, and Milliken Viscosity Modifiers that specifically help polypropylene recyclers. 

Almost all respondents used post-consumer plastic (96%), and all experienced some challenges associated with these materials. 56% of those surveyed said contamination and cost were the largest challenges followed by processability (36%), appearance (32%), color (28%), mechanical properties (20%), dirt (16) and odor (12%).