AMI offers directory of European plastics recyclers

United Kingdom-based plastics industry consulting company Applied Market Information Ltd. (AMI) has published a new edition of its directory, “Plastics Recyclers in Europe,” which lists 993 plastics recycling facilities involved in a variety of processing operations.

Plastics recyclers covered in AMI’s directory include recyclers of packaging, building, agricultural, automotive, textiles, electronics and appliance scrap, along with a variety of other products.

AMI says the majority of plastic scrap recycled is postindustrial production scrap because of its ready availability and the minimal amount of processing required to turn it back into reusable material.

The most commonly recycled polymer in Europe, according to AMI’s directory, is currently high-density polyethylene (HDPE), with 64 percent of the sites listed able to recycle it. HDPE is followed by low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene.

The distribution of the 993 mechanical recycling sites listed in AMI’s directory is spread across Western and Central Europe. Germany is leading the way, housing over 20 percent of the sites listed in part because of policies and targets for recycling that in recent years has seen it maintain its lead in Europe.

The scale and size of Germany’s recycling industry is also reflected in it being home to many of the larger processors, with more than 40 percent of Germany’s recycling sites producing more than 5,000 metric tons of recycled-content materials each year. Italy and the United Kingdom are tied for second, each with 13 percent of sites listed.

The directory sells for €325.00 (or US$425.00 or GBP£270.00) and can be ordered at www.amiplastics.com.