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# A complete guide to advanced recycling
- URL: https://packaging-europe.ghost.io/a-complete-guide-to-advanced-recycling/
- Published: 2026-06-18T09:32:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-18T09:32:02.000Z
- Author: Packaging Europe staff writers
- Tags: Chemical recycling, Sustainability, Headline News, Reports, SPS on Demand, Recyclability, #layout-p, #type-article, #packaging-europe, #Import 2026-09-08 15:54

#### In a rush? Click here to read a summary of this report

**Introduction**

As governments and brands set tougher recycled content targets, advanced recycling is emerging as a critical tool for dealing with plastic waste streams that conventional mechanical recycling cannot handle. This report explores the technologies driving the sector, the major players investing in scale-up, and the economic, regulatory, and infrastructure barriers that must be overcome if advanced recycling is to help deliver a circular plastics economy.

**Key Takeaways**

- Advanced recycling addresses plastics that mechanical recycling cannot. Technologies such as dissolution recycling, pyrolysis, hydrothermal processing, and gasification can process mixed, contaminated, multi-layer, and flexible plastics that would otherwise be landfilled or incinerated.
- No single technology will solve the plastics recycling problem. Industry experts stress that different waste streams require different solutions. Mechanical recycling should remain the preferred option where feasible, with advanced recycling acting as a complementary route for more difficult materials and food-contact applications.
- Feedstock quality and sorting remain critical bottlenecks. Advanced recycling plants depend on consistent, well-sorted waste streams. Improved collection systems, digital tagging, AI-powered sorting, and better bale specifications will be essential to deliver reliable feedstock at scale.
- Economic viability remains uncertain. Many advanced recycling technologies struggle to compete with low-cost virgin plastics. High capital costs, immature supply chains, and slow regulatory implementation have already contributed to setbacks, including the bankruptcy of some recycling technology developers.
- Policy clarity will determine future investment. Regulatory approval pathways, recognition of mass-balance accounting, recycled-content mandates, and stable long-term policy frameworks are all viewed as essential for unlocking investment and accelerating commercial deployment.

**Conclusion**

Advanced recycling has significant potential to increase circularity for hard-to-recycle plastics, particularly in packaging and food-contact applications, but it is not a silver bullet. Success will depend on coordinated investment across the entire value chain, from collection and sorting to processing, regulation, and market demand.

**Many plastics in the waste stream today are challenging to recycle – particularly flexibles but also all multi-layer materials, plastics contaminated with food residues and heavily coloured plastics.**

Meanwhile regulatory bodies throughout the world are setting increasingly ambitious targets; in Europe alone, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation ([PPWR](https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/waste-and-recycling/packaging-waste/packaging-packaging-waste-regulation%5Fen?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io)) has set recycled content targets of 35% for non-contact sensitive plastic packaging and 10% for contact-sensitive plastic packaging by 2030\. Hence the growing interest in the development of advanced recycling processes.

While the most commonly used recycling method is still mechanical, this works best for clean, single-material streams but is not able to cope with the increasing amounts of the more challenging plastics mentioned above entering our waste streams.

According to Marc van den Biggelaar, global product director for circular & renewable solutions at [Dow](https://www.dow.com/en-us.html?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io): “This is where advanced recycling becomes essential. It can process complex, mixed and multi-layer plastics that would otherwise go to landfill or incineration, converting them back into secondary raw materials. These can then be used to produce new plastics with performance identical to virgin.

“Critically, this enables circularity in demanding applications such as food packaging, where regulatory and performance requirements are especially strict and where maintaining barrier properties, sealing performance and safety is non-negotiable. At the same time, it creates a pathway to incorporate recycled content into a large and currently underserved segment of the market.”

We have seen many players enter the field in recent years and new startups are appearing all the time. We are also, encouragingly, seeing more new plants being built or upscaled to house these technologies although, as we shall see, much more are needed.

In terms of geography, according to [a report](https://renewable-carbon.eu/news/new-report-mapping-of-global-advanced-plastic-recycling-capacities/?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) by the Nova-Institut, Europe is home to the majority of the world’s advanced recycling facilities, “representing approximately 20% of the global input capacity and roughly 26% of the global output of recycled polymers, monomers, naphtha and SVC. The European production capacity for polymers, monomers and naphtha from chemical and physical recycling is expected to quadruple by 2031, while global capacities are projected to triple.”

That said, some regions of the world are better equipped to scale advanced recycling than others. There are ongoing concerns about scalability which we will address below, particularly in areas with fragmented or undeveloped waste collection and sorting infrastructure.

#### **MAIN TECHNOLOGIES AND SOME KEY PLAYERS**

The types of advanced recycling most talked about today fall broadly into dissolution recycling and chemical recycling, the latter of which can be further separated into technologies such as pyrolysis, hydrothermal and gasification, among others.

“For flexibles, the question is not which single technology will provide the solution to meeting PPWR targets and circularity, but which recycling pathway is suitable for which material stream and which secondary application,” says Dana Mosora, Work Package Consultant at CEFLEX. “Some flexible packaging can be recycled mechanically using conventional technologies. Some may need additional decontamination. Some may need physical or chemical recycling to reach the quality required.”

**Dissolution recycling**

It’s not gone unnoticed that many chemical recycling processes are more energy-intensive than mechanical recycling, which can further complicate their environmental and competitive performance, not to mention operational costs.

Dissolution recycling can be thought of as a ‘middle ground’ between mechanical and chemical recycling. It uses solvents to separate the target polymer from other components to recover high-quality polymers in their pure state, but without requiring the high temperatures of, say, pyrolysis processes. It has been found to be particularly effective for multi-material and printed films.

“There is a particular need for these technologies in food packaging,” says Klaus Wohnig, Co-founder of the [DROP-IN Dissolution Recycling](https://drop-in.network/about?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) Initiative, “because you need a product which is safe for EFSA or FDA standards and is like virgin oil. If we’re talking LDPE, for example, with dissolution recycling tech you can save one to three tonnes of CO2 emissions compared to the same amount of virgin material. In this regard it’s certainly better positioned than chemical recycling because you are not using energy to destroy the polymer chains and there is no need to polymerize them again.”

One example of a company working on scaling up a dissolution process is [APK AG](http://www.apk.group/?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io). The company’ s NewCycling process produces low-density PE granules from mixed plastic packaging waste by selectively dissolving PE and separating it from other polymers, additives and contaminants in the waste stream. Furthermore, in an example of how petrochemical companies are becoming increasingly involved in this field, in 2024[ it was announced](https://packagingeurope.com/news/lyondellbasell-seeks-boost-in-flexible-ldpe-recycling-by-acquiring-apk/11808.article?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) that LyondellBasell had completed its acquisition of APK.

“With the APK process,” says Klaus, “we were able to decolourize material, for instance, to get the pigments out again and this is something that can’t be achieved through mechanical recycling so it really is a step forward.”

[Dow’s collaboration with Procter & Gamble](https://corporate.dow.com/en-us/news/press-releases/dow-and-procter-gamble-to-develop-a-new-proprietary-recycling-technology-targeting-hard-to-recycle-plastic-waste.html?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) is another example of how dissolution recycling can be employed. The companies will combine their patented technologies and use dissolution technology to recycle a broad range of plastic materials with a focus on polyethylene and targeting post-household plastic waste (especially rigids, flexible and multi-layer packaging).

**Chemical recycling**

Chemical recycling, including thermochemical processes such as pyrolysis and gasification, breaks polymers down into their original monomers to create valuable feedstocks for new plastics. With ever-more researchers and companies entering the field, these technologies are improving in efficiency, yield and scalability all the time.

[**Pyrolysis**](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemical-engineering/pyrolysis?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) is the most widely used chemical recycling technology, through which plastics are broken down into basic hydrocarbons by heating in the absence of oxygen. Products can be processed similarly to oil, creating feedstocks for new polymers or to be used directly as fuels.

Indeed, according to Carlos Ludlow Palafox, former CEO and Founder of [Greenback Recycling Technologies](https://www.greenback.earth/en/about%5Flanding%5Fpage?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io), “90% of the time when people are referring to chemical recycling they are really talking about pyrolysis.”

To give just one real-world example of this, [last year](https://www.amcor.com/media/news/greenback-amcor-partner-advanced-recycling-uk?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) Greenback announced the first UK deployment of its Enval advanced recycling module at Amcor’s facility in Heanor, Derbyshire, where it will undergo a six-month commissioning and trial phase. This marks the first time Greenback’s modular chemical recycling technology is hosted by a global packaging leader in Europe.

The partnership with Amcor ‘aims to showcase the potential for co-locating modular recycling units within existing industrial infrastructure – bringing the circular economy closer to reality. The module’s installation at Heanor will provide important learnings for scaling circularity as it will predominantly convert household post-consumer flexible packaging waste’.

Some chemical processes involve the use of catalysts to break materials down. [LyondellBasell](http://www.lyondellbasell.co/?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io), for example, [has opened](https://www.lyondellbasell.com/en/locations/europe/germany/wesseling-site/?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) its first advanced recycling plant at its Wesseling, Germany. The project uses on LyondellBasell’s proprietary MoReTec technology, a catalytic pyrolysis process developed with the [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology](http://www.kit.edu/?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io), that converts pre-treated, mixed-waste plastic into raw materials to produce new plastic polymers.

Another interesting area of development is high-yield **thermochemical processes** – something that Dow, for one, is increasingly involved with. “We are developing new waste‑to‑value platforms, where we are exploring how to scale the conversion of mixed and hard‑to‑recycle waste streams into circular feedstocks more efficiently,” explains Marc van den Biggelaar. “Through [our collaboration with Innventure, and the launch of Refinity](https://corporate.dow.com/en-us/news/press-releases/dow-and-innventure-waste-to-value-platform.html?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io), we are working to commercialize technologies that can convert mixed plastic waste into petrochemical feedstocks at scale.”

**Hydrothermal technology** is a process through which a broader range of mixed plastics can be accommodated. [Mura Technology](applewebdata://11531D14-9B4E-4A01-83CB-1C81D6000F04/muratechnology.com) has developed Hydro-PRT, a process that uses water above its critical point to produce fossil-equivalent oils from mixed, multi-layered flexible and rigid plastic waste for the petrochemicals industry to create virgin-grade plastics. Its commercial-scale [Hydro-PRT plant](https://packagingeurope.com/news/mura-technology-opens-advanced-recycling-facility-for-unrecyclable-plastics/10497.article?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io), commenced operations in late 2023 and it has since also expanded its hydrothermal plastics recycling process across Asia through key partnerships with [LG Chem](https://www.muratechnology.com/news/muras-hydroprs-licence-partner-lg-chem-commences-construction-at-first-site/?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) in South Korea and [Mitsubishi Chemical/ENEOS](https://www.muratechnology.com/news/mistubishi-chemical-group-and-eneos-launch-advanced-recycling-facility-using-muras-hydro-prt-technology/?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) in Japan.

**Gasification** is another widely-discussed potential chemical recycling process by which mixed waste materials are heated to a very high temperature (\~1000 - 1500’ °C) in the presence of a limited amount of oxygen, which breaks the molecules down to their simplest components to produce syngas (a mix of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and some carbon dioxide). The syngas can then be used to produce a variety of chemicals for plastics production as well as fuel and fertilizers.

There are yet other areas of early-stage innovation that are worth keeping an eye on in future.The application of **microwaves** to as a method of energy transfer as an alternative to energy-intensive heating is being explored as an alternative approach to processing plastic waste streams. Companies such as [Pyrowave Inc](https://www.pyrowave.com/?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io). and [Microwave Solutions](http://www.microwavesolutions.ch/?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) are just two of those looking into this.

For those wishing to explore further the range of technologies available, the 2025 CEFLEX report ‘[New Recycling Technologies – Advancing Circularity in Flexible Packaging](https://ceflex.eu/public%5Fdownloads/New%5FTechnologies%5FReport%5FCEFLEX%5FJune%5F2025.pdf?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io)’ looks at technologies that address some of the main barriers in flexible packaging recycling.

![Amcor-front-of-store-packaging.png-2](https://storage.ghost.io/c/61/60/61607b5b-1c0b-4249-a886-4bc4c284c107/content/images/d2wrwj382xgrci-cloudfront-net/Pictures/2000xany/6/1/6/19616_amcorfrontofstorepackaging-png2_370709.jpg)

#### **CHALLENGES TO SCALING ADVANCED RECYCLING**

**Feedstock supply and the sorting challenge**

The lack of consistent supply of feedstocks for advanced recycling is an ongoing issue. For Dana Mosora, when it comes to flexibles at least this can largely be seen as a sorting challenge.

“Flexible packaging is often lightweight, printed, laminated or contaminated, so sorting has to produce the right bale grades before the recycling technology can work efficiently and deliver reliable output quality.”

There is a real mountain to climb if Europe’s sorting and recycling infrastructure is to meet the demands of the PPWR. “CEFLEX modelling shows that to meet PPWR targets in 2030, Europe would need an infeed capacity of 7.5 million tonnes of conventional and quality recycling capacity,” says Dana. “This includes 4 million tonnes of stand-alone capacity and 3.5 million tonnes as pre-treatment.

“The system would also need to sort much larger volumes of flexible packaging before it can be recycled. The modelling points to around 1.9 million tonnes of new advanced decontamination, physical recycling and chemical recycling capacity, but also around 10 million tonnes of primary sorting capacity, where flexible packaging is first separated from other collected materials, and 9 million tonnes of secondary sorting capacity, where that flexible packaging is sorted again into more specific, higher-value streams that recyclers can match to the right processes and secondary application PCR requirements.”

These numbers, says CEFLEX, demonstrate why advanced recycling cannot be separated from collection and sorting. The technologies need suitable feedstock, and suitable feedstock depends on packaging being collected, sorted and prepared in the right way.

And, adds Dana, smart sorting should be part of the same discussion. “Advanced recycling technologies depend on getting the right material into the right process. For flexible packaging, digital watermarking, tagging and improved sorting can help create feedstocks that are better suited to specific recycling routes.” (For those who are interested in these solutions, take a look at [our recent report](https://packagingeurope.com/features/how-the-packaging-industry-is-embracing-intelligent-sorting/14287.article?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) on intelligent sorting.)

Just as important says Marc is investment in applying materials science to turn these recycled materials into on-shelf packaging innovations. “[With RDM Group](https://corporate.dow.com/en-us/news/press-releases/dow-and-rdm-group-collaborate-on-innovative-fibre-based-food-packaging.html?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io), for example, we developed Multiboard CirculaRR, a food-contact-compliant packaging solution that combines recycled cartonboard with advanced recycled polyethylene and is designed for recyclability within established paper recycling systems.”

Lastly, he says: “Beyond conversion technologies, innovation is also happening upstream – particularly in sorting and feedstock quality, which is critical to unlocking circularity for flexible packaging. For example, [our collaboration with Google’s X, the Moonshot Factory](https://www.esgtoday.com/dow-google-partner-to-use-ai-to-address-hard-to-recycle-soft-plastics/?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io), is exploring how artificial intelligence can enable more precise identification and sorting of complex materials such as films and multi‑layer packaging, helping to significantly improve recovery rates.”

**Dwindling recycling capacity**

We’re all well aware of the struggles Europe alone has been going through to meet recycling demand, with news of many plants closing in the past year or two. That said, we have been seeing encouraging signs of larger industry players collaborating with technology partners to invest in new capacity.

Dow is just one example of this, asMarc van den Biggelaar tells us: “On the feedstock and infrastructure side, one recent example is our [strategic investment in Xycle](https://corporate.dow.com/en-us/news/press-releases/dow-boosts-access-to-circular-feedstocks-with-strategic-investment.html?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io), which supports the construction of its first commercial-scale advanced recycling facility in Rotterdam. Dow will be an off-taker of circular feedstock from that site, using it to manufacture new, virgin-quality circular plastics. We are also working with Mura Technology as a long-term partner.”

But as Klaus Wohnig highlights, it’s also worth looking beyond Europe at what is happening globally. “[Figures from Plastics Europe](https://plasticseurope.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/PE%5FTheFacts%5F25%5Fdigital-1pager-scrollable.pdf?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io), for example, have seen a doubling of the recycling capacities in China so it could be that if necessary the existing gap in material supply is to some extent closed by China.”

But, he adds, we have to be careful here. “We have to make sure that we remain competitive. In Europe we have rules in place that lead to a higher cost structure, such as the need to pay for high CO2 emissions, which China does not have. This is something the Commission need to keep an eye on.

“Above all, we need to invest in local production and make use of the raw materials, the plastic waste, we have in Europe in a cost-effective way.”

**Cost**

While many technologies are promising, it is proving difficult for them to compete economically with cheap, fossil-based virgin plastics and there are also questions around whether we will see the necessary investment in taking them to the next level. Advanced recycling technologies are capital-intensive and still in the scaling phase. Therefore complementary technologies will be critical to improving the quality and yield of recycled materials.

According to Dana Mosora, “For many polyolefin-based flexible packaging formats, recycling can still cost more than the secondary raw material is worth. That makes investment harder, even where the technology works and the packaging has been designed for recycling.

“Several technologies have shown technical potential, including deinking, delamination, dissolution and extraction,” says Dana. “The question is whether they can move from pilot or demonstration scale to commercial volumes quickly enough to contribute to 2030 targets.”

For some companies, cost issues have proven too much of a barrier. As an example, glycolysis-based chemical recycling technology company Ioniqa [filed for bankruptcy protection](https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2024/10/10/11040085/chemical-recycler-ioniqa-files-for-bankruptcy-protection/?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) in late 2024, stating that “achieving a positive cash flow from its advanced polyester recycling technology will take too long.”

It attributed this to the comparatively low price of traditional virgin PET and the supply chain for chemically recycled PET still being in development. It also mentioned that “the implementation of regulated mandatory standards for meaningful recycling levels… \[being\] too far out into the future.”

**Regulatory gaps**

As stated in the case of Ioniqa above, regulation is another major issue for emerging advanced recycling technologies, especially for food-contact and contact-sensitive applications. Under Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, novel recycling technologies need to be notified, registered and assessed using operational data before they can be considered suitable and authorized.

“For several relevant technologies, this pathway is still at an early stage,” says Dana. “Unless regulatory clearance is given faster there may well be many promising technologies falling by the wayside.”

Supporting policy frameworks may help to close the gap and unlock investment, with the PPWR putting higher mandates for recycled content in packaging, hopefully paving the way for making advanced recycling more economical in the long-term. But even here, there are concerns that potential revision clauses may be stall investment.

“Enabling policy frameworks are fundamental to unlocking investment,” says Marc van den Biggelaar. “Looking ahead, upcoming policy milestones – such as the revision clause within the PPWR – will be pivotal. If such mechanisms were to weaken or remove recycled content targets, it would risk slowing investment in advanced recycling and, more broadly, delaying progress toward circularity.”

Alongside this, he says, “Advancing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes – particularly with eco‑modulated fees linked to circularity – can help finance the scale-up of collection and recycling infrastructure while also creating demand pull for recycled materials.”

Regulatory clarity around mass balance accounting is also going to be crucial. Mass Balance, a globally recognized standard created and certified by [ISCC](https://www.iscc-system.org/about/who-we-are/?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) and used across industries to measure recycled inputs and outputs, can ensure the traceability of recycled content through complex, integrated production processes.

“Mass balance is particularly important for advanced recycling – especially applications like food packaging where material purity is paramount – as circular feedstocks are introduced into existing petrochemical infrastructure to produce new materials,” says Marc. “[As we’ve seen in the development of advanced recycling projects](https://www.umsicht-suro.fraunhofer.de/en/press-and-media/press-releases/2025/Chemical-Recycling-Europe-Map.html?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io), uncertainty around whether all recycling routes will be recognised can slow down investment decisions and delay the scaling of infrastructure.

“Ultimately, mass balance is not just a technical mechanism – it is a critical bridge between innovation and scalability.”

**Lack of clarity leading to negative perceptions**

The classification of advanced recycling processes and their output – e.g. is it ‘recycling’ or ‘energy recovery’ – is still inconsistent and can, in fact does, lead to confusion. The words we use to define things matter: confusion can create uncertainty for investors for one; and as we shall see further, can also distort public perception.

As Carlos Ludlow Palafox puts it,“I know it’s purely semantics, but it’s actually quite problematic that all these technologies are often grouped under one umbrella because the problems with dissolution or the problems with the pyrolysis process are very different in the case of, say, PET recycling. This matters when you’re talking to investors.

For example, some have said to me ‘how come PyroPure \[[a technology that](https://www.york.ac.uk/business/expertise/funding/ktp/case-studies/pyropure-case-study/?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) destroys non-recyclable waste on site leaving only metal and glass for recycling\] is doing so well with the advanced recycling of PP and you’re taking so long? Or how come the depolymerization of PET is going well in some places and pyrolysis is not?

“And that happens in part because they don’t really understand that the issues are very, very different.”

This may help to explain recent accusations that the plastics industry, chemical and petrochemical producers are pushing advanced recycling while downplaying its environmental drawbacks. [A report by](https://climateintegrity.org/projects/advanced-recycling-fraud?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) the Center for Climate Integrity titled ‘The Fraud of Advanced Recycling’ states that “the reality of chemical recycling is a far cry from the plastics industry’s promises”.

In 2024, California attorney general Rob Bonta [filed a lawsuit](https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-sues-exxonmobil-deceiving-public-recyclability-plastic?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) against ExxonMobil for “deceiving the public” about the potential of plastics recycling. Pyrolysis processes were at the centre of the lawsuit, which alleged a wide gap between the amount of recycled content the company says it incorporates into its products, and what is actually contained. (The question is ongoing – a federal judge announced [early this year](https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/exxon-mobil-can-sue-california-attorney-general-defamation-over-recycling-judge-2026-02-13/?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) that ExxonMobil can sue Bonta for defamation.)

But pending lawsuits aside, is there anything in such accusations? We asked Carlos to shed light on what might be behind these perceptions.

“The big problem is that a lot of those using the pyrolysis process had fallen into the trap of over-promising and under-delivering – saying we can successfully pyrolyse all plastics, whatever the level of contamination, which is pure and absolute rubbish. Of course we *can* pyrolyse PET and food-contaminated materials but the oil that results is completely useless.

“Consequently, we then saw a lot of pyrolysis companies swinging too much the other way – designing and developing processes using waste that is *too* pure, if that make sense. Because if the waste is so pure, why do you bother using the energy to pyrolyse at all? I really do believe there is a happy medium and I believe we will find that because there is a lot of work going on the middle ground.”

And where do the petrochemical companies like ExxonMobil fit into this?

“Well, being chemical companies, the only way they can get involved in the world of recycling is through chemical recycling; they are not waste companies, so they are not going to get involved in melting plastics to make new bottles – LyondellBasel aside.

“We are still in the middle of scaling advanced recycling and it has moved on a lot in the last year and a half. But unfortunately, thanks to the time it has already taken, as we know a lot of the brands [have diluted](https://packagingeurope.com/news/why-do-big-brands-keep-missing-their-sustainability-targets/12774.article?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io) their environmental commitments enormously because of the lack of material available to fulfil these.

“In short, a lot of the scepticism comes, I think, from a lack of understanding that there’s a very big different between pyrolysing something to recover chemicals and pyrolysing something to recover fuels. Of course it makes no sense to do the latter when there are cleaner ways of producing fuel. It’s a crucial distinction, and I think we as an industry have done a really bad job of explaining that difference in general so we need to do better.”

#### **CONCLUSION**

It’s important to recognize that addressing all the challenges we have mentioned above is not just about the recycling technology itself. Advanced recycling is not a standalone solution and there are ‘several fronts’ to consider in this battle, as Dana Mosora points out.

**“**Better packaging design, clearer bale specifications, investment in sorting and recycling capacity, stronger demand for defined PCR grades, and clearer regulatory routes for novel technologies. This leads to a systemic change which calls for strong collaboration between all stakeholders.

All of this said, before anybody gets too carried away with the advantages of advanced recycling, let’s be very clear: there will always be a place for standard mechanical recycling. The advanced technologies we have spoken of should be thought of as complementary, to be applied to specific problems such as contamination or where food-grade is required.

Indeed, says Dana, “Conventional mechanical recycling should remain the first choice where it can produce a suitable post-consumer recycled material (PCR). For well-designed and well-sorted flexible packaging streams, this can be the most direct, efficient and cost-effective route. The aim should be to use the simplest recycling pathway that can produce the required PCR quality.”

Ultimately, scaling up advanced recycling needs cross-value chain integration, from collection to separation and sorting, processing, purification, pack design and alignment with downstream demand. Without this, even the most innovative technologies will not meet today’s stringent economic and environmental expectations.

**If you liked this story, you might also enjoy:**

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[***Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation: what to know in 2026***](https://packagingeurope.com/features/the-ultimate-guide-to-the-packaging-and-packaging-waste-regulation-in-2026/13960.article?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io)

[***Everything you need to know about global packaging sustainability regulation***](https://packagingeurope.com/features/report-the-ultimate-guide-to-global-packaging-sustainability-regulation-in-2025/12733.article?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io)

[***Strategic learnings from the Sustainable Packaging Summit***](https://packagingeurope.com/features/strategic-learnings-from-the-2025-sustainable-packaging-summit/13750.article?ref=packaging-europe.ghost.io)