Europe will face an increasing amount of waste from technical plastic parts in the coming years, a recent report warned.

Driven by trends in digitization and lightweighting, demand for technical plastic parts is increasing “very fast”, making them the third most widely used material, after “[plastics designed for] construction and packaging construction applications” said Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) in its latest strategy paper on technical recycling of plastic parts.

Currently accounting for 16% of total EU plastics demand, engineering plastics are widely used in both the automotive and E&E sectors as they are lighter, more durable and safer compared to others materials.

According to PRE, by 2020, the EU is expected to generate an additional 46% of plastic waste from the electrical and electronic (E&E) sector compared to 2000.

However, recycling rates for engineering materials remain low, despite industrial-scale facilities and technologies available in Europe, PRE noted.

In 2017, just 300,000 tonnes, of the 3 million tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), went to recycling in specialized European facilities, PRE figures suggest.

In its strategic plan, Plastics Recyclers Europe has called for a better collection system and sorting infrastructure and a review of “outdated waste management practices”.

Furthermore, PRE called for a “consistent and stable legislative framework” to increase investor confidence and increase legal certainty.

“Today we need to reach the unexploited material that is not yet fully exploited. This will require an additional effort to guarantee the necessary conditions for recyclers of technical plastic to increase their investment with the aim of transforming this material into a high-quality product, “said Antonino Furfari, PRE managing director.