Shortlisted finalists in the Plastics Recycling Awards Europe 2022 were revealed earlier today in a livestream event. The winners of the seven award categories will be announced on 23 June, the second day of the Plastics Recycling Show Europe at the RAI Amsterdam, where all 45 finalists will be showcased.

“The number and quality of entries for this year’s awards has been outstanding, especially in the Household & Leisure Product category, ” said Ton Emans, President of Plastics Recyclers Europe. “All of the shortlisted products and projects are made in Europe and every product contains a minimum of 50% recycled plastics. The success of these awards reflects the increasing collaboration we see along the whole plastics value chain from brand owners, packaging designers, raw material producers, equipment manufacturers and more.”

“Congratulations to all our finalists. The depth and diversity of projects and products prove the commitment to the recycling of plastics today,” said Matt Barber, Global Events Director, Crain Communications. “In the five years since the Plastics Recycling Awards Europe were founded, it is heartening to see just how extensively plastic products are now specifically designed to be recycled.”

Plastics Recycling Awards Europe 2022 Finalists:

Automotive, Electrical or Electronic Product of the Year – plastic parts used in automotive and electrical products incorporating recycled material:

•          CEPLAFIB motorhome floor distance holders by AITIIP, ADRIA and TECOS

•          Coloured Recycled Material for Interior Trim Parts for Ford Transit vans by Ford Otomotiv Sanayi

•          Sustainable modular headliner for vehicle interiors and downstream recycling solutions by Grupo Antolin

Building & Construction Product of the Year – interior and exterior construction products of all types:

•          ECO waste water traps by Jimten and Aliaxis

•          ECOSAN Structured Wall PVC Sewage Pipes by GROUP PLÁSTICOS FERRO

•          SOLAR HEAT panels made from recycled plastic, by MONTELLO & WET/ECOPIXEL

•          VORONOI plastic panels by Plastiz and Ser – a Sirmax Group CompanyArmaPET Eco50 by Armacell Benelux S.C.S

Household & Leisure Product of the Year – covering all types of domestic and leisure goods with recycled content:

•          “ReCycle” Bike Bag by VAUDE , INTERSEROH & Fitcraft

•          DutchFiets bicycle by DutchFiets and Healix

•          EcoPackly collapsible storage container by FRATELLI GUZZINI

•          HÅG Tion 2100 chair by Flokk

•          Lookin EVO bicycle saddle by Selle Royal and bage plastics

•          N U K E R I N A S C O® chair by MEPOL – BRADO

•          Paclan For Nature – Good Karma bin bags by Cedo Folien und Haushaltsprodukte

•          Reading eyewear by Euro-Optics

•          Battigia sponge holder by VECA – A Sirmax Group Company

•          StepUp Pedal Bin by Brabantia

•          Tie Top High Performance Refuse Sack by Berry bpi

•          “My bottle, please” detergent refill system by CHT Germany

•          Kuniboo Beach Toy Set by Schwarz Group (PreZero Polymers AG, Kaufland Dienstleistung GmbH & Co. KG) and Mochtoys

Plastic Packaging Product of the Year – judged on design innovation with recycled content and design for recycling:

•          Fully recyclable laminate tube with PCR by EPL Deutschland and Co. KG

•          Nivea Shower Crème Care bottles by Beiersdorf & Morssinkhof Plastics Heerenveen 

•          ProLiFEx rPEflex compostbag by Attero, Pokon Naturado, Oerlemans Packaging Group, TUSTI, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven and DOW

•          Recyclable collation shrink film with outstanding PCR content by Freiberger Lebensmittel, alesco Folien, and Borealis

Product Technology Innovation of the Year – improving recyclability of plastic products or incorporating recycled materials in product production:

•          Nucleant nucleating additive for lightweighting by Ampacet

•          Halogen-free polymer process aid for packaging and recycling market by Evonik Operations

•          K3® r100 separable carboard and plastic tubs by Greiner Packaging

•          NextCycle IML labels by MCC Verstraete

•          Recyclable Mono PE shampoo Pouch by Procter & Gamble

•          Finish 0% Dishwasher Tablets packaging by Reckitt

•          “Future by Aptar” mono-material pump by Aptar Beauty & Home

Recycling Machinery Innovation of the Year – increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of plastic recycling processes:

•          VacuFil Visco+ fiber to fiber – inline recycling of post-consumer polyester (PET) fiber waste to high-end filament yarn by BB Engineering

•          ZS-B MegaFeed by Coperion

•          QualityON:Polyscan – Measuring the polymer composition directly during the recycling-extrusion process by EREMA Group

•          Gneuss MRSjump Extruder by Gneuß Kunststofftechnik

•          Greyparrot AI Waste Recognition System by Greyparrot

•          Caustic Washer for rigid and flexible flakes polyolefins by Krones AG

•          PolyPerception Waste Flow Platform by PolyPerception

•          READY DEPACK TECNOFER depackaging system by TECNOFER ECOIMPIANTI

•          Mistral+ CONNECT waste sorting system by Pellenc ST

Plastics Recycling Ambassador of the Year – individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to European plastics recycling:

•          Pablo Urbano Villaescusa, COO, AUARA EMPRESA SOCIAL

•          Stijn Billiet, Director Global Sustainability, MCC Label

•          Dan Jordan, Recycling Specialist, Summit Systems

•          Robert Brüll, Head of Department Material Analysis and Characterization, Fraunhofer

•          Mik van Gaever, COO, Fost Plus

The expert judging panel for the Plastics Recycling Awards 2022 includes four previous winners of the Ambassador Award: Flor Peña Herron, Senior Sustainability & Circular Economy Manager EMEA at Avery Dennison (2021); Professor Kim Ragaert of Maastricht University (2020); Gian de Belder, Technical Director, R&D Packaging Sustainability at Procter & Gamble (2019) and Willemijn Peeters CEO of Searious Business (2018). They are joined by Ton Emans, President of Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE); Karen Laird, Editor of Sustainable Plastics and Rune Thoralfsson, Owner and Director of plastic film recycler Norfolier GreenTec AS.

The Plastics Recycling Awards Europe are organised jointly by Plastics Recyclers Europe and Crain Communications, organisers of PRSE. Platinum sponsors of the 2022 Awards are EREMA Engineering Recycling Maschinen GmbH, Fimic SRL and Tomra Sorting Recycling.

The Plastics Recycling Show Europe is a free-to-attend exhibition and a conference designed specifically for plastics recycling professionals. It brings together key players from the plastics and recycling sectors to showcase innovative technology, share best practices, network and do business. A broad cross-section of the industry is represented at the event including plastics recycling machinery and equipment suppliers, plastic material suppliers and compounders, pre-processors, plastics recyclers, waste management specialists and industry associations.