Reprocess the polymer
Sorted plastic is cleaned and physically reprocessed. Waste composition and contamination influence usable output and future applications.
Circularity
Keep the material.
Understand the pathway.
Circularity combines product design, collection, sorting, processing and a viable destination for recovered material.
Recover building blocks or feedstock
Different technologies suit different waste streams. Energy use, process yield and product suitability require route-specific evidence.
Change the input source
Renewable or bio-circular inputs can substitute feedstock. Their origin does not automatically establish biodegradability or recyclability.
Content and attribution
are different questions.
Physical recycled content describes material in a product. A mass-balance system attributes eligible feedstock inputs to outputs under defined rules. Do not use one percentage as evidence for the other.
Model physical content quantities →Before making a claim
Confirm the chain of custody, certification scope, allocation method, product-specific documentation and the rules applying in the market where the claim will be used.
Ask what happens in practice.
| Stage | Question | Evidence to seek |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Can the product be identified and separated? | Composition, labels, attachments and sorting trials |
| Collection | Does a route exist where the product is used? | Local acceptance, collection coverage and volumes |
| Processing | What output can the route deliver? | Yield, contamination, grade properties and energy data |
| Next application | Can recovered output meet requirements? | Testing, approvals, consistency and supply documentation |
Sources: BASF recycling technology overview, 30 July 2026; LYB Circulen. Reviewed 13 November 2026.