To improve the recycling quality of plastics packaging and achieve high recycling rates new identification and sorting technologies are required. Tracer-based-sorting (TBS) is an innovative identification technology based on fluorescent tracers and a corresponding detection unit. TBS can be considered a radical technology change towards a circular economy for plastics and to support sustainability as it has the potential to render several established sorting and/or recycling steps obsolete. This article shows which drivers and barriers are perceived by stakeholders with regard to the implementation of TBS in the market and how challenges are addressed responsibly in the early phases of the innovation process. Influencing external factors and framework conditions of TBS are identified and suitable business models for TBS in a circular economy are discussed. Further, practical recommendations on how to optimize technology and market development for TBS are provided. To obtain these results a mixed method approach of integrated innovation and sustainability analysis, external environment analysis (PESTEL analysis), and business model development approaches was chosen. The research results can be understood as a practical contribution towards a responsible and sustainable implementation of a radical technology-based innovation for a circular economy of plastics.
This paper elaborates an energy and material flow model for conventional lightweight packaging sorting and recycling in Germany based on literature analysis and information provided by industry experts. The model is used to determine specific energy and material demands of particular lightweight packaging fractions and their respective climate impacts. Fluorescent-based identification techniques, tracer-based-sorting in particular, are assessed as an option to increase material circularity due to improved sorting and recycling accuracy. In comparison to primary production of lightweight packaging, conventional sorting and recycling saves 565 kg CO2-eq./Mg of input sorting. A total of four implementation scenarios are considered, reflecting the percentage of mixed plastics and residuals that can be mechanically processed through improved sorting (10%, 50%, 90% and 100%). Using tracer-based-sorting, these savings increase from 578 up to 1227 kg CO2-eq/Mg depending on implementation scenario. This paper concludes that tracer-based-sorting can contribute to an environmentally benign circular economy by yielding high-quality regranulates, which are capable of substituting more carbon-intensive primary production of lightweight packaging.
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