Recycling is a process that has been used for decades. Some materials, such as glass, can easily be recycled into the same product. Materials like plastics, a commonly used material in packaging because of its many advantages, pose a bigger challenge. Therefore, in this episode, we will mainly focus on the recycling of plastics.

Recycling is a process in which products are broken down to fragments to reclaim the materials they consist of; these materials can then be reused in other products. This does mean that extra energy is required in both the destruction of the old product and production of the new product. To make optimal use of the value embedded in a product it is preferred that a product’s lifetime is as long as possible before it is recycled. However, as Siem explained most packaging has a short lifetime and little to no value when wasted.