The winners of the 2021 European Plastics Recycling Awards were announced at the European Plastics Recycling Exhibition in Amsterdam. Together, this year’s winners have made very significant progress in effective recycling design, which in turn defines the path to more recyclable plastic products and true recycling of plastics.

The Speed ​​Home WLAN of Deutsche Telekom AG is the winner of the car, electrical or electronic product award, and is almost 100% made with recycled components from the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Environmental Equipment) stream. The judges praised this device as an excellent example of recycling plastic into the same type of daily necessities while maintaining the visual appeal of the design.

Plastix's Circular Green Rope is the winner of construction and construction products. It has shown that fishing gear can be successfully recycled. So far, the application has proven to be challenging. This truly innovative and comprehensive cross-industry solution is both a key driver of the transition to a circular new plastics economy and a real business opportunity.

Flokk's auburn HÅG Capisco Puls are made from recycled snowplow marks and are the winner of this year's home and leisure products award. The jury praised Flokk's relentless commitment to sustainable and durable furniture. The seat and back shell of the new chair are made of 100% recycled post-consumer polypropylene, demonstrating how to recycle plastic waste into an ideal design without compromising its quality or function. This table and chair also scored high in aesthetics, ergonomics and design. It allows different sitting positions, such as engagement with legs, which is not possible with traditionally designed chairs.

The recyclability of packaging is the first step in ensuring that it is recycled back to high-quality, closed-loop applications. The round Evian unlabeled bottle designed by SAEME for Danone Eaux in France is a truly innovative packaging and a winner in the plastic packaging product category. Removing the label from the bottle minimizes packaging usage and helps the recycling process. The packaging scored A in the RecyClass analysis.

The Product Technology Innovation Award was awarded to Reckitt, whose single-material PP trigger sprayer is a major advancement in design that improves the recyclability of this popular product. Trigger sprays often contain multiple materials, including metals or glass, making them difficult to recycle. The judges praised Reckitt for reducing the weight of the component and promised to reduce the 22 variants of the trigger sprayer to 3 and the number of color changes from 42 to 6. This excellent recycling design example sends an important signal to other companies to follow.

The ambassador for plastic recycling in 2021 is Flor Peña Herron, Manager of Sustainability and Circular Economy, EMENA, Avery Dennison Label and Packaging Materials Division. The judges praised Flor for setting the direction for processors, label manufacturers, packaging industry and the entire value chain, and committed to improving the recyclability and recycling of plastic packaging in Europe. She uses multiple platforms, including Petcore and RecyClass, and her enthusiasm and drive are bringing real changes to the plastic cycle.

The two entries in the recycling machinery innovation category received the same highest score in the jury, which was clearly ahead of all other finalists, so the judges decided to jointly award prizes.

Britas ABMF-PET-C (Automatic Belt Melt Filter) was launched on the market in October this year, which can automatically filter pollutants in plastic waste. For the first time, it allows continuous processing of post-consumer waste without stopping production, making it ideal for continuous processing and stable pellet quality.

EREMA Erema's INTAREMA® TVEplus® RegrindPro® ReFresher applies the company's existing and very successful ReFresher technology to recycle food contact HDPE containers. The judges considered this innovation to be a major change in eliminating harmful odors from waste plastics, allowing recycled materials to replace virgin plastics in high-end applications. This type of innovation is critical to meeting the EU's goal of recycling food contact plastics.

Each winner will receive a trophy, a 3D printed base made of 100% recycled ABS plastic car dashboard, and a multi-color top made of compressed HDPE beach cleaning bottle caps laser cut.

"This year's winners truly prove that a high percentage of recycled materials can be successfully used in high-end brand consumer products for daily use," said Ton Emans, president of European Plastics Recycling Corporation. "Now in the fourth year, the award as a whole showcases the cooperation of all plastic value chain participants in improving recycling: from major brands and material manufacturers to processors, label manufacturers, and shredding and extrusion machinery. Everyone at the manufacturer."

"Congratulations to all eight of our outstanding winners. These incredible projects and products demonstrate our industry's commitment to recycling and reusing plastics through design," said Brennan Lafferty, vice president of Crain Communications. "They showed us that by working together, we can make great things out of recycled plastics and greatly increase the absorption of recycled materials."

The expert jury for the 2021 Plastics Recycling Awards includes the first three winners of the Ambassador Award: Professor Kim Ragaert of Maastricht University (2020), and Gian de Belder, Technical Director of Packaging Sustainability R&D, Procter & Gamble (2019) ) And Willemijn Peeters CEO Serious Business (2018). Ton Emans, president of European Plastic Recyclers (PRE), also joined them; Karen Laird, editor of Sustainable Plastics and Rune Thoralfsson, owner and director of plastic film recycler Norfolier GreenTec AS.

The European Plastic Recycling Award is jointly organized by the European Plastic Recycling Association and PRSE organizer Crain Communications. EREMA Engineering Recycling Maschinen GmbH, Fimic SRL and Tomra Sorting Recycling are the platinum sponsors of the 2021 awards.

The European Plastics Recycling Exhibition is a free exhibition and a conference designed for plastic recycling professionals. It brings together major players in the plastics and recycling industries to showcase innovative technologies, share best practices, build networks and conduct business. A wide range of representatives from the industry participated in the event, including plastic recycling machinery and equipment suppliers, plastic material suppliers and compounders, pre-processors, plastic recyclers, waste management experts and industry associations.

More information: https://www.prseventeurope.com/

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