European Companies Developing Method to Recycle Plastics Fluff

Three European groups have jointly developed a procedure to allow for the recycling of plastics from automotive fluff to be converted into a methanol type product.

The process has been developed by SVZ Scharze Pumpe, Tecpol, Hanover and the Brussels Association of Plastic Manufactures,

According to a representative from DaimlerChrysler AG the technology is “an interesting recycling approach”: “For us this is an option, because the methanol can be used as a fuel for fuel cells.” The interest of automobile industry has a good reason: the SVZ technique is almost the unique in Europe.

“This technology is at the moment the most modern and eco-friendly on the market, because ASR is recycled to 100%”, says Bernd Meyer, Professor for energy technology in Freiberg, Saxony. He esteems SVZ to be 10 years ahead with this technology developed.

SVZ plans to recycle 140,000 metric tons next year, equivalent to the ASR from about 700,000 automobiles.

European legislation calls for car manufactures recycle at least 80 percent of the vehicle by 2006, and by 2015 at least 85 percent of the vehicle to be recycled.