Technologies for Recycling

Plastic is an indispensable material in daily life and for shaping the future. However, at the end of its useful life, a large proportion of it still ends up in landfills or even in the environment.

For decades, humanity has been living beyond its means and undermining the foundations of its existence. We are now consuming natural resources 1.8 times faster per year than the Earth can regenerate them in the same period.

The reason: A throwaway society prevails in large parts of the world, where most consumer products end up as waste after a single use. By 2050, global waste generation is expected to increase by around 50 percent – from 2.6 billion tons in 2022 to 3.9 billion tons.

This often comes at the expense of the environment – as about one-third of global municipal waste is not disposed of properly. Around 22 million tons of plastic waste alone enter the environment, including the oceans, each year.

On the other hand, plastic recycling is still low: Worldwide, only around nine percent of plastic waste is actually recycled.

Covestro sees itself as a pioneer of the circular economy and aims to advance the recycling of plastics with innovative End-of-Life Solutions.

We are pursuing a broad technological approach to meet the diversity of products and markets.

• Chemical recycling – a still emerging process with great potential
• Mechanical recycling – a proven process with broad application

Overall, we have set up a multitude of research and development projects. By 2035, we plan to invest several hundred million euros in our own recycling and bio-based technologies.