— By Plasteurope.com staff — 

RIGK (Wiesbaden; www.rigk.de), a German service provider for take-back and recycling of packaging and plastics, has teamed up with Spanish compounding and recycled materials specialist GCR (La Bisbal del Penedès; www.gcrplasticsolutions.com) to launch a Europe-wide pilot project aimed at advancing recycling solutions for industrial packaging.

This initiative seeks to demonstrate that complex post-consumer packaging streams can be reintroduced into the production cycle for technical applications while maintaining high levels of quality, traceability, and safety.

The project focuses on packaging collected through the German Pamira take-back scheme for plant protection and liquid fertiliser containers and the GVÖ system for lubricant packaging, the companies said. These schemes provide controlled collection and pre-treatment processes intended to ensure consistent input quality and traceability.

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Recycling trials were carried out at a mechanical recycling facility operated by GCR. According to RIGK, the plant forms part of a EUR 100 mn investment programme designed to prepare for the requirements of the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).

In addition, the partners said the trials used advanced hot-washing, sorting, and extrusion technologies, together with deodorisation and analytical processes, to ensure that recycled material can be safely reintroduced into production. GCR’s innovation division also conducted extensive laboratory testing, including material characterisation and contaminant analysis, to validate the quality and industrial performance of the recycled pellets.

Initial test results indicate that volatile substances have been successfully removed from the recycled material, reducing the risk of cross-contamination, RIGK said. Further trials with industry partners are planned in the coming months to confirm the results and support the integration of recycled material into industrial packaging production.