Technologies
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AI and robotic sorting
Commercial, widely deployed
Cameras, near-infrared sensors and machine learning identify each item on a recycling line and robots or air jets pick it out, raising purity and capture.
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Bubble barriers
Deployed in European cities
A perforated tube on the riverbed releases a curtain of bubbles that pushes floating and suspended plastic to a catchment at the bank.
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Compostable and bio-based plastics (PHA, PLA)
Commercial, with limits
Plastics made from plants or microbes that can break down under the right conditions. Useful for food-soiled items, but only where composting exists.
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Deposit return systems and reverse vending
Proven at national scale
A small refundable deposit on drink containers, collected back through machines or shops, routinely returns more than 90 percent of bottles and cans.
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Digital watermarks for packaging
Industrial trials
Invisible codes printed across a package tell sorting cameras what the item is made of and whether it held food, so it can be sorted precisely.
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Enzymatic recycling of PET and polyester
Pilot to first commercial plants
Engineered enzymes break PET bottles, trays and polyester textiles back into their building blocks, which can be made into new plastic of virgin quality.
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Hydrothermal recycling
First commercial plant in development
Uses supercritical water to break mixed plastics, including flexible films, back into hydrocarbons for new plastic production.
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Molded plant fiber packaging
Commercial
Trays, bowls, cup lids and clamshells pressed from plant fibre replace foam and rigid plastic in food service and produce packaging.
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Mono-material and design for recycling
Commercial
Redesigning multilayer pouches, sleeves and caps so a package is made of one recyclable plastic, following recycler design guides.
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Mycelium packaging
Commercial, niche
Mushroom roots grown around farm waste form protective packaging that replaces polystyrene foam and composts at home.
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Open-source community recycling
Widely used at small scale
Small shredders, extruders and presses built from free plans let schools, makerspaces and villages recycle plastic into products locally.
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Pyrolysis and other chemical recycling
Mixed record
Heats mixed plastic without oxygen to make oils. Promoted as a fix for hard-to-recycle plastic, but its benefits are strongly debated.
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Recycled plastic building materials
Commercial
Mixed and low-value plastic is compressed into boards, blocks and bricks for construction, creating a market for plastic nobody else will buy.
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Recycling ships at sea: the SeeElefant
In development; first ship planned for 2027
A converted freighter with sorting, shredding and recycling systems on board that can anchor at plastic hotspots with no recycling capacity and process about 60,000 tonnes a year.
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Reuse and refill systems
Commercial, scaling
Returnable cups, food containers and refill stations replace single-use packaging entirely, with washing and logistics shared across businesses.
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River interceptors and booms
Deployed in many countries
Floating barriers and conveyor systems anchored in rivers catch plastic before it reaches the sea, where it is far harder to recover.
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Seaweed-based packaging
Early commercial
Films, coatings and pods made from seaweed replace plastic in sauce sachets, takeaway box linings and flexible wraps, and break down naturally.
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Solvent-based purification
Early commercial
Dissolves a single plastic in a solvent to strip out colour, odour and contaminants, then recovers the polymer without breaking its chains.
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Tethered caps
Required in the EU since July 2024
Caps that stay attached to drink bottles, so the cap is collected and recycled with the bottle instead of becoming litter.
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Washing machine microfibre filters
Commercial
Filters on washing machine outlets catch synthetic fibres shed by clothing before they reach wastewater and rivers.
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Waste collection boats
Deployed
Slow-moving catamarans with nets collect floating plastic in harbours, estuaries and coastal waters, then bring it ashore for sorting.