From bottles to dashboards – VTT drives innovation in recycled plastics

A new method developed by Finland’s technical research centre VTT raises the quality of recycled plastics to near-virgin standards, making them suitable for demanding uses such as car parts and food packaging. The innovation combines multiple recycling techniques with real-time quality control, supporting Europe's move towards a circular plastics economy.

Only 8 per cent of plastics used in the EU are currently recycled. That’s set to change with the forthcoming Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which mandates increasing shares of recycled content – even in food-contact materials.

“From January 2030 onwards, even packaging materials in direct contact with food will need to include a certain proportion of post-consumer recycled plastics,” said Jani Pelto, principal scientist at VTT.

Traditional mechanical recycling often results in weaker materials, limiting their use. But VTT’s method introduces advanced rheology control – an automated system that adjusts material composition on the fly, stabilising performance to match virgin plastics.

“In practice, it’s an automated quality adjustment system that gives industry confidence in both the quality and desired properties of recycled plastics,” Pelto explained.

The system can be adapted for different customer needs, with sensors overseeing everything from melt viscosity to additive levels. VTT has already demonstrated recycled materials in structural automotive components.

The success of PET bottle recycling provides a model for expanding reuse to common packaging plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene.

“This is not distant future. Very soon, packaging plastics will be recycled back into new packaging, and technical plastics will be reused in technical applications,” Pelto predicted.

With EU targets rising and technology keeping pace, demand for consistent, high-quality recyclates is expected to grow rapidly.