FROM WASTE TO RESOURCE: POLYMER RECYCLING Regenerated post consumer polypropylene raffia for food-grade applications

Polymers represent a broad family of highly versatile, modifiable, mixable and processable macromolecules that have been used for a wide range of applications over the years, from agriculture to food, from automotive to household, cosmetics to biomedical fields, roofing to packaging and beyond. The global polymer market was valued at USD666.1 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 993 billion by 2032. In 2023, global fossil-based plastic production reached 374.2 Mt (accounting for 90.4% of total production), while mechanically and chemically recycled post-consumer plastics amounted to 36.5 Mt. Within this context, another critical variable must nowadays be considered: the environmental impact of an incorrect management of those materials as well as of the production of virgin polymers from crude oil. The intensive extraction of raw materials, the dispersion of microplastics into the ecosystem, and the accumulation in open-air landfills of disposed material which can take up to 500 years to decompose without ever fully disappearing, are just a few examples of how, if improperly managed, these resources risk becoming a serious problem. Proper care is essential throughout the entire life cycle of these materials, whose numerous properties have been and continue to be explored. European regulations have been introduced in order to govern the supply, processing, disposal and recycling of such materials, as well as to define the regulatory and physicochemical characteristics of raw materials and finished goods according to the final application. When it comes to the production process, the production of recycled polymers has a lower environmental impact with respect to the production of virgin polymers, because of the lower energy consumption, reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions, waste production, resources exploited. In the recycling context, one of the highest challenges in this framework is to recycle post-consumer waste, because of the possible contaminants it may contain and because of the need for a decontamination step ensuring a safe and processable input for recycling plants.