#Recycling / Circular Economy

2026-07-09

Recyc'Elit presents progress in chemical recycling of polycotton waste

French recycling technology company Recyc'Elit showcased the latest progress in its chemical recycling technology during the second National Polymer Recycling Conference, organised by AXELERA and POLYMERIS in Clermont-Ferrand, France, on 30 June and 1 July 2026.

At the event, the company presented developments achieved since the inaugural conference, with a particular focus on scaling up its recycling technology. During the session Chemical Recycling: Industrial Scale-Up, Manuela Landel, Director of Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property at Recyc'Elit, outlined the company's technology and highlighted the results of the FREPI project, which addresses the recycling of polycotton waste streams from personal protective equipment (PPE).

According to Recyc'Elit, the project has demonstrated promising results in the high-quality separation of cotton from polycotton textile waste, supporting the recovery of valuable raw materials from complex blended textiles.

The conference also highlighted progress towards industrial implementation. Frédéric Cheviron of De Dietrich presented the company's contribution to the development of CASTTOR, Recyc'Elit's ADEME-supported pre-industrial demonstration plant. Project partners IFTH and Axel'One also participated in the event, underlining the collaborative approach to advancing textile recycling technologies.

Ence and ShareTex begin initial testing of the ATENEA innovation project to promote textile recycling in Spain

Ence and ShareTex are making progress on the Atenea R&D project, which aims to develop a complete value chain for textile recycling in Spain. Specifically, the goal of the ATENEA project—which is funded by the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI)—is to connect all the necessary stages for the recovery of textile waste, from collection and management, through recycling and transformation into new raw materials, to their incorporation into new textile products.

DePoly Inaugurates its Showcase Plant in Monthey Switzerland

What if used plastic bottles, PET packaging material and polyester textiles could become raw materials just as high performing as virgin resources? That is the ambition of DePoly, a circular materials company based in Sion, Switzerland which inaugurated its Showcase Plant in Monthey on July 6th & 7th. The first depolymerization facility of its kind and scale in Switzerland, this industrial Showcase Plant represents a major milestone in the company's growth and its journey toward commercialization.

Commission clarifies rules on plastic bottles recycling

The European Commission today adopted new rules on recycling of single-use plastic beverage bottles made primarily of polyethylene terephthalate (PET bottles). These rules establish, for the first time, a methodology to calculate, verify and report chemically recycled content. This is part of the Commission’s December 2025 plastics package.

Geotextiles made from recycled materials: GREEN leads the way into the industry

For the industry, recycled materials are creating new opportunities in geotextile production. In the GREEN project, the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE demonstrates that recycled polypro-pylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and high-density polyeth-ylene (HDPE) can be processed into nonwovens, fibers, and membranes that meet industrial requirements. This creates opportunities for use in existing production lines and new value chains in the geotextile market.

DyStar releases FY2025 sustainability report, marking a new milestone towards its 2030 targets

DyStar, a leading specialty chemicals company with more than a century of expertise in product development and innovation, today announced the release of its FY2025 Sustainability Report, marking a significant milestone in its sustainability journey and reinforcing its commitment to long-term value creation.

TERIS reaches milestone: Fraunhofer consortium develops new standards for tire analysis

In the “TERIS” project, the Fraunhofer institutes ICT, IGD, and IWM—led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF—have reached a decisive milestone. For the first time, the teams aim to generate, analyse, and predict tire wear in the laboratory in a standardized and practical manner. As part of this milestone, results are now available on reference abrasion, particle analysis, tribological models, AI-based surface analysis, a test bench concept, and methods for accelerated aging and VOC detection. The tire industry, testing services, and environmental agencies will in future benefit from reliable, rapid laboratory procedures for emissions assessment.