Innovative recycling project: This is how plastic finally becomes sustainable!

Innovative recycling project: This is how plastic finally becomes sustainable!

On May 9, 2025, Prof. Dr. Julia Affolderbach and her research team are presenting an innovative project that is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. Under the name “Plastic Pop-Up Cycle”, the mobility initiative aims to raise awareness among people in the region and beyond about the issue of plastic recycling. The concept, which represents an extension of an existing project, was presented for the first time at the ESD conference in Linz am Rhein.

The initiative calls on schools and institutions to actively address the issues of waste prevention and recycling. All places in the plastic recycling workshop are already fully booked until the summer holidays. From August 18th, school classes can submit requests for future educational offerings via the university's website.

Research on resource utilization

In addition to the activities surrounding the plastic pop-up cycle, there are a variety of other research projects dealing with the sustainable use of waste. A notable example is the MyPro platform, developed by Dr. Hannes Hinneburg and Dr. Gita Naseri is directed. The focus here is on the sustainable production of mycelial material from genetically modified filamentous fungi, supported by funding of around 1.3 million euros.

Another project called REARRANGE, led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. David Montag and his colleagues from RWTH Aachen University aim to use mineral residues from phosphorus recovery as a secondary raw material in the building materials industry. It was funded with around 1.4 million euros. It is therefore evident that recycling is becoming more and more the focus of research.

Growing amounts of waste and innovative solutions

The amount of waste in Germany has grown continuously in recent years. In 2022, the per capita share of municipal waste was 606 kg, while the EU average is only 513 kg. Despite a positive development, with the recycling rate increasing from 39.5% in 1995 to 69.3% in 2022, the challenge remains to effectively minimize the environmental impact of waste.

Modern technologies play a crucial role in improving waste separation and processing. Advances in chemical recycling and enzymatic processes enable the reuse of materials that are difficult to recycle. These technologies not only help to reduce CO₂ emissions, but are also necessary to use increasingly scarce raw materials more efficiently.

Artificial intelligence and micro-factories offer new approaches and decentralized solutions for processing electronic waste. These systems improve efficiency in recycling plants and ensure the quality of raw materials. They address one of the most pressing challenges of our time: the global increase in waste and the need to manage resources sustainably.

Overall, it shows that innovative projects and technologies are crucial for a sustainable future. Given increasing amounts of waste and the limited availability of raw materials, the focus on efficient recycling solutions is more important than ever. Data from science.de prove that modern recycling processes help to reduce the environmental impact of our consumer behavior and that sustainable action is not only necessary but also possible.