Is Our Approach to Recycled Polymers Putting the Circular Economy at Risk?

This article reflects the views of Luxus Managing Director, Peter Atterby, drawing on more than 40 years of experience in polymer compounding, recycling and sustainable materials. In this recent article, Peter explores the key questions and issues around the long-term future of the circular economy.

The circular economy is built on a simple principle: keeping valuable materials in use for as long as possible.

As an industry, we've made significant progress in increasing the use of recycled polymers. However, as we continue to develop new recycled compounds and respond to market demands, it's worth asking an important question: Are some of today's decisions creating challenges for tomorrow's circular economy?

Looking closely at today's targets

One area that is worthy of closer examination is the increasing use of recycled polypropylene (PP) compounds containing significant levels of polyethylene (PE).

These materials undoubtedly have a place in the market, particularly where performance requirements allow. However, we should also consider what happens when those products reach the end of their second life.

A product manufactured from an 80% PP and 20% PE compound is often still described simply as polypropylene. While that may satisfy current commercial or regulatory requirements, the reality is that the material has become significantly more difficult to recycle back into a high-quality polypropylene stream.

The less visible costs of circularity

Polypropylene and polyethylene can be separated after their initial use, although doing so requires additional processing and cost.

Once the two polymers have been compounded together, however, recovering them as high-purity materials becomes far more challenging. The result is that each subsequent recycling cycle can reduce the quality and value of the material, limiting the number of times it can be effectively reused.

If our ambition is a truly circular economy, we should be thinking not just about today's recycled content, but about preserving the quality of tomorrow's recycled feedstock.

How do we best measure sustainability? 

There is understandable pressure on manufacturers to increase recycled content and meet evolving sustainability targets, including Plastic Packaging Tax requirements. However, my personal preference would be for sustainability to be measured over the entire lifecycle of a material, not simply by the percentage of recycled content in a single product.

A solution that appears to be the most sustainable today, may ultimately reduce the long-term recyclability of valuable polymers if it compromises material quality tomorrow. That doesn't mean mixed-polymer compounds should never be used. Rather, it highlights the importance of understanding where they deliver genuine environmental benefit and where alternative approaches may better support long-term circularity.

How can we, as an industry, support the circular economy?

The circular economy will only succeed if we continue to challenge ourselves to think beyond today's targets, examine the challenges from all angles and work together to drive innovation. 

As compounders, manufacturers, designers and specifiers, we all have a role to play in considering not only the immediate performance of recycled materials, but also their ability to retain their value as resources for future generations.

Before specifying a recycled compound, perhaps we should ask one additional question: Will this material still support the circular economy after its next life?

Sometimes, the most sustainable decision isn't simply about using recycled content today, it's about protecting the quality and recyclability of that material for decades to come.