Waste or rather a by-product?
Without waste, there is no recyclate! Because: In 2020, German legislation defined the term recyclate as “secondary raw materials that have been obtained through the recovery of waste or are produced during the disposal of waste and are suitable for the manufacture of products.”
In this sense, plastic waste arises on the one hand from disposed packaging film, cups and containers — so-called post-consumer waste. On the other hand, plastic waste is also generated in industrial processes — so-called post-industrial waste, from which post-industrial recyclate is produced.
When is plastic actually waste?
But when is plastic actually waste in the legal sense? The law is clear on this point: plastic is waste when its owner gets rid of it, gets rid of it
wants to or has to get rid of. The so-called “will to dispose” is the key word. And only if this is the case can the waste be turned back into recycled plastic — i.e. a genuine recycled plastic. This definition is particularly crucial for recyclate manufacturers such as ENNEATECH: only what is considered waste may be recycled in accordance with the law and placed on the market as recyclate.
ENNEATECH — Specialist for recyclates from industrial fiber waste
This is where ENNEATECH comes into play. The company buys scrap residues from fiber and yarn production, filaments, ropes and belts that fiber manufacturers want to get rid of. Instead of ending up in landfill or incineration plants, the fibers end up in ENNEATECH’s production halls.
This makes the company not only a plastics processor, but also a certified waste management company. Here, the fiber waste is transformed into high-quality PA recyclates and compounds. To do this, the fiber waste is first analyzed, shredded and regranulated in several extrusion lines — a typical process for post-industrial recycling.
ENNEATECH mainly processes polyamide, but other recyclates such as PP recyclate (polypropylene) or PET recyclate (polyethylene terephthalate) are also becoming increasingly important — depending on the application.
All processing takes place in plants that are approved in accordance with the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG). According to the definition, these are plants for a “recovery process through which waste is processed into products, materials or substances and then used for its original purpose or other purposes.”
In plain language: the PA recyclates and compounds from ENNEATECH are returned to the cycle as high-quality recycled plastic — for example in the form of components for the automotive industry, the construction industry or other sectors. Depending on the product, a specific recycled content can even be precisely documented — this is often required today, for example for sustainability audits or environmental labels.
The ecological advantage of genuine recyclates
The unbeatable advantage of genuine recyclates is their CO₂ footprint. The polyamide as a raw material is already available thanks to the fiber residues and no longer has to be produced from fossil raw materials in an energy-intensive process.
In fact, the carbon footprint of ENNEATECH recyclates is already 96% better than that of virgin material. The CO₂ emissions of each customer’s product can be precisely quantified — a major advantage for anyone on the path to climate neutrality.
The documented recyclate content (DIN SPEC 91446 or DIN Spec 91481) also becomes a real competitive advantage here: the higher the content, the lower the environmental impact. The importance of recycled content is growing — for OEMs, suppliers and customers alike.
The ecological advantage of genuine recyclates
Waste should not be confused with a by-product. According to the legislator, it is a by-product if it arises from a manufacturing process whose main purpose is not the manufacture of this (by-)product.
This can be the edge trim in a film extrusion, for example. The purpose of extrusion is to produce the film, not the trim. The companies collect the latter, grind it and feed the by-product edge trim back into the extruder.
According to Section 4 (1) of the Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act, it is a by-product under the following conditions:
- The by-product is reused and
- No further pre-treatment beyond a normal industrial process is required.
- The material is produced as an integral part of a manufacturing process.
- Further use is lawful.
Example: By-product or recyclate?
A more complex example of a by-product comes from the handout “Recycled plastics in production” from GKV, BDE and BVSE:
When manufacturing a plastic component, it is not possible to use the production residue directly in one and the same process. The residue must first be ground or shredded by the company itself or a third party before it can be reprocessed in the same plant in which the main product was manufactured.
Grinding or shredding the material is a “normal industrial process”, even if it is carried out by a third party. If the other requirements of Section 4 KrWG also apply, it is a by-product — not waste — and therefore not the use of recyclate.
What is recyclate — simply explained
Anyone wondering: What is recyclate? — Here is the short answer: recyclate is a material with a history. It comes from plastic that has already been used, either from consumer waste or industrial waste — in other words, recycled plastic with a new purpose.
The importance of recyclates is particularly evident in high-quality recycled plastics such as those offered by ENNEATECH. These reclaimed plastic solutions come from unmixed sources, are processed industrially and make an active contribution to conserving resources and reducing emissions.
