Waste Valorization
Hard plastics for packaging as additives for high performance asphalts
Problem: Eurostat data highlight a continuous increase in the per capita production of waste: from 495 kg in 2018 it has gone up to 520 kg in 2020. Of the total waste, 125 million tonnes are plastics. According to the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) only 15% of plastic waste is recycled, 25% is incinerated and the remaining 60% is landfilled or released into the environment. In the world, globally, the “produced” plastic is eight times higher in quantity than the recycled plastic.
State of Art: Circular economy is pushing increasingly to bring about real change in production and waste management. The recovery and reuse of waste is not only an environmental benefit but also an economic one. Rubber, plastic, textiles and waste biomass are recovered and used as additives in many industrial sectors: construction and infrastructure, road, clothing, etc.
Solution: Crossing is developing a technology to use different kind of waste, with no further application, as additives in many industrial fields such as construction, infrastructure and road. These wastes are landfilled or incinerated.
Crossing technology allows to replace commercial additives currently produced from fossil-based raw materials with recovered/recycled wastes. Waste valorization as additives allows the reduction of the environmental impact both related to waste disposal and current production processes.