PlasticBOND: Holistic assessment and optimization of the sustainability of plastic material cycles with methods of digitalization

 

In order to achieve the European goals of the Green Deal and a circular economy, recycling-friendly product and process optimization must be promoted. Only in this way is it possible to use finite resources sustainably, to bring about their further use and reuse, and to reduce the emission impact of plastics on the environment. So far, there is a lack of methods for the uniform assessment of the sustainability and recyclability of packaging as well as standards for the processing and characterization of recyclates.

To solve these problems, the WZL, together with the IKV, is designing a decentralized platform in the PlasticBOND lighthouse project in collaboration with a cooperation network from research and industry to collect and provide the necessary information for cross-circuit evaluation of the ecological sustainability of plastic products. On the basis of a tamper-proof exchange of process and material data along the value chain, the traceability of material properties, the promotion of the targeted use of recycled materials and the optimization of product designs are to be promoted.