Research by Svensk Plaståtervinning, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and TERRA has been published in The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.
In the study, the organisations compared the climate impact of three different treatment methods for plastic packaging waste: incineration with energy recovery, downcycling (recycling with no or minimal sorting) and high-quality material recycling with advanced sorting.
The results show that there are significant differences in climate impact between the best method (high-quality recycling) and the other two methods (downcycling and incineration). High-quality recycling, which involves advanced sorting, leads to a 27 per cent reduction in climate impact compared with a scenario where no recycling takes place (direct incineration with energy recovery), in the system modelled by the study.
The results also indicate that downcycling reduces climate impact by only 4 per cent compared with a scenario where no recycling takes place.
The study’s findings suggest that high-quality recycling is essential for reducing the climate impact of plastic packaging and replacing the need for primary fossil raw materials.
Downcycling often results in the recycled plastic being used as a substitute for wood as a raw material, which does not reduce society’s need for new plastic production.
With the forthcoming EU legislation, the PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation), there is scope for further climate benefits in the scenario involving plastic recycling with advanced sorting. This is due to increased requirements for design for recycling and mandatory quotas for the proportion of recycled raw material in plastic packaging. As a result, a larger proportion of plastic can be recycled to a high standard following advanced sorting.
About the study
The study (“The basket-of-functions approach applied to compare the climate aspects of high-quality mechanical recycling and downcycling of plastics”) is the first of its kind to quantify the climate benefits of different types of plastic recycling across the entire value chain – from raw material extraction and material production to waste management and energy recovery. This comprehensive analysis reflects how plastic recycling impacts several societal systems, such as fossil raw material extraction and energy production.
Scenarios studied:
- Reference scenario: Direct incineration with energy recoverergiutvinning, i.e. no sorting or material recycling
- Downcycling: mixed plastic waste is recycled without sorting, for example into railway sleepers (plastic replaces wood in the sleepers)
- High-quality material recycling with advanced sorting: sorting of mixed plastic waste where each type of plastic (polymer fraction) is recycled separately, based on what is technically and practically feasible today.
Data sources
Actual operational data from the Site Zero sorting plant in Motala, emissions data from the existing recycling system, and emissions data from the Waste Management Planning System (WAMPS) LCA model. See the Supplementary Material for further details.
Further research opportunities
The model used in this study is also applicable to other research in the field of plastics recycling, such as chemical plastics recycling, and to other environmental aspects such as water use, microplastics and toxic substances
Further information about the study
Title: The basket-of-functions approach applied to compare the climate aspects of high-quality mechanical recycling and downcycling of plastics
Published in: The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
Authors: Tomas Ekvall (TERRA), Linnea Granström and Rickard Jansson (Svensk Plaståtervinning), Emma Moberg and Tomas Rydberg (IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet)
Funding bodies: The Swedish Institute for Water and Air Research (SIVL) and Svensk Plaståtervinning
The study is freely available at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11367-025-02543-7
