8. 7. 2025
How to make the most of plastic waste: new technology can also handle sludge
A sub-project of the National Center of Competence for Polymer Materials and Technologies for the 21st Century has reached a significant milestone. In June 2025, the first sub-project focused on the technology for processing waste sludge generated during mechanical recycling of flexible plastic packaging was successfully completed. The main goal was to design and verify the technology for separating waste sludge containing plastics that is generated during the sorting and washing of plastic waste, and to find a way to further use it as by-products. The project thus contributes to increasing the economic and environmental efficiency of the recycling process on sorting lines.
“Sustainability and the principles of the circular circuit are just modern concepts – they represent a necessary framework for how we approach materials, waste and energy sources. This project shows that even residual materials, such as waste sludge from plastic recycling, can be given a new purpose,” said the project’s principal investigator, Prof. Vladimír Sedlařík.
Optimized processing takes into account the efficient management of sludge waste with a significant residual plastic content, which also brings sustainability to the entire system. Finally sorted materials from plastic sludge then have high potential for further processing, especially in the production of plastic products for external technical applications. In addition to the proven technology for processing plastics separated from waste sludge from sorting lines, the output also includes three functional samples. The first functional sample is based on separated plastics from waste sludge from sorting lines with optimized material properties for subsequent production, the second is focused on creating a material for solid alternative fuels, and the third on a material for catalytic mineralization. The developed technology and functional samples represent innovative solutions for reducing the ecological footprint of plastic waste.
