Plastic recycling - Consultancy, testing, and development
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Turn your plastic into a resource - from production waste to high-value plastics
Danish Technological Institute offers consultancy and testing in plastic recycling with a focus on documenting material quality, optimizing processes, and ensuring compliance with standards. The Plastics Laboratory provides independent testing, consultancy on product design, and quality assurance of raw materials to promote circular material flows and reduce dependency on fossil resources.
Plastic recycling encompasses processes where used plastic or production waste is converted into new raw materials and products with the aim of preserving the highest possible technical material quality. It is a crucial part of the transition to a circular economy and an increasingly important competitive factor for plastic manufacturers and packaging companies.
Danish Technological Institute advises and assists companies across the entire value chain - from the optimization of production waste to the development of new products based on recycled and bio-based raw materials. Our goal is to help you move from downcycling, where the plastic loses quality, to upcycling and high-value plastics, where recycled plastic matches the quality of virgin plastic.
How can Danish Technological Institute help you?
We cover the entire process from analysis and consultancy to testing and product development:
- Consultancy on minimizing and recycling production waste: identify the value in your residual fractions
- Product design for recycling: design new products so they can be recycled at the end of their lifecycle
- Production with recycled raw materials: guidance on material selection and process optimization
- Quality assurance of recycled raw materials: testing and documentation of mechanical, chemical, and physical properties
- Degradability and stability studies: of raw materials and finished products
- Development projects within resources and the environment: development, testing, and optimization of mechanical recycling processes for complex or challenging plastic fractions
- Consultancy on PPWR requirements: technical and regulatory advisory on the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, including documentation of recyclability, design criteria (Design for Recycling), and preparation for recyclability performance grades (A–C)
- Consultancy on bioplastics and biodegradable plastics: alternatives to fossil-based plastics
- Networks and contacts in the recycling industry: access to partnerships and value chains
From downcycling to high-value plastics
A large portion of the plastic recycled today ends up as downcycled material - i.e., plastic that is turned into products of lower quality than the original. A typical example is when household plastic waste is recycled into floor planks.
Danish Technological Institute works dedicatedly to help companies transition from downcycling to upcycling - what we call high-value plastics. High-value plastics are recycled plastics that match the quality of virgin plastic and can be used in demanding applications.
Within mechanical recycling, the Plastics Laboratory works on, among other things:
- Testing and optimizing washing, sorting, and extrusion processes for challenging plastic types
- Analyzing and minimizing material degradation during repeated mechanical reprocessing
- Reprocessing and quality-assuring recycled plastics for use in new, technically demanding applications
Mechanical recycling is currently the primary pathway to circular material flows. Danish Technological Institute assists companies and projects with independent testing, optimization, and documentation of mechanical recycling processes.
Why plastic recycling is a business-critical task
Globally, more than eight billion tonnes of plastic have been produced. Around 30 percent of this is still in circulation - and must be recycled to a far greater extent than it is today.
For Danish companies, plastic recycling is not just about environmental responsibility. It is also a business-critical task because:
- Demands from customers and consumers for documented sustainability and circular materials are increasing
- Reducing fossil raw materials strengthens security of supply and price stability
- Recycling creates value - production waste, which is currently an expense, can become a revenue stream
- New products with recycled content can open up new markets and strengthen your competitive position
Danish Technological Institute is an independent, non-profit research and technology organization (RTO) that provides guidance based on your needs - not commercial interests in specific materials or technologies.
Would you like to explore the possibilities for recycling your plastic?
Contact Danish Technological Institute for a conversation about how we can help you recycle production waste, quality-assure recycled raw materials, or develop new products based on circular materials.