The need to embrace circular economy models has transformed the way we perceive and manage plastic. The latter, in fact, is no longer seen as end-of-life waste, but as a precious resource to be reintroduced into the production cycle.
In this context, plastic regeneration proves to be a fundamental pillar for sustainability and we at Gaypa can accompany you on this path, ensuring that your green choices not only have a positive impact on the environment, but also result in high-quality finished products, with stable colors and impeccable performance.
What is regenerated plastic?
To fully understand the value of this process, let’s start with the basics: what exactly is meant by “plastic regeneration”?
Plastic regeneration is an industrial process that transforms post-consumer or post-industrial plastic waste into new raw materials ready to be reintroduced into the production cycle. In simple terms, it is the act of “reborn” plastic.
It is not simply generic recycling, but a process that focuses on recovering the polymeric material to return it to the form of a granule or flake, ready to be used in extruders or molding machines, just like virgin plastic.
This process, on the one hand, reduces the amount of waste destined for landfills or incinerators and, on the other hand, also preserves the value of the polymer. Regenerated plastic, or secondary raw material (MPS), retains most of the properties of the original polymer, making it an economically and environmentally advantageous alternative to fossil raw material.
For us at Gaypa, regenerated plastic represents an exciting opportunity, a field in which our expertise in coloring and additive manufacturing can make a real difference in terms of the quality and stability of the final product.
What is included in the plastic regeneration process
The mechanical regeneration process is complex and requires advanced technologies to ensure the purity and quality of the regenerated material. It is a path divided into precise and controlled phases:
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Collection and selection
The journey begins with collection and, once the plastic waste arrives at the plants, we move on to selection. Materials are divided according to polymer type (PET, PE, PP, ABS, etc.), color, and contamination level. This separation is crucial, as mixing incompatible plastics would drastically reduce the quality of the final material. Optical and infrared technologies are often employed to ensure accurate selection, although the human eye retains an irreplaceable controlling role.
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Crushing
The selected plastic is crushed or shredded. This process reduces volumes and transforms bulky items (such as bottles or bottles) into small, uniform pieces, called flakes or ground. The homogeneous size of the material facilitates the subsequent washing and processing phases.
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Washing and separation
The crushed material is subjected to intensive washing to remove contaminants such as dirt, labels, adhesives, food residues, dust and sand. Thorough washing is crucial for the final purity of the granule. Subsequently , separation by density is carried out (for example, by means of water tanks), which allows the plastic flakes to be isolated from any other heavier or lighter residual materials.
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Drying
After washing, it is essential to remove all traces of moisture, and then the material is subjected to thermal or mechanical drying . This step is crucial, especially for polymers such as PET, which are very sensitive to moisture at high temperatures. Indeed, residual water can cause problems (such as the breakage of polymer chains or the formation of bubbles) during the subsequent extrusion phase.
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Extrusion and granulation
The clean, dry flakes are finally sent to the extruder, where they are heated, melted into a viscous liquid, and homogenized. During this stage, the molten material passes through a screen changer that acts as a “safety filter”, removing any residual solid contaminants. The homogenized melted polymer is then pushed through a die and cut into small, uniform granules, ready to be packaged and reused: this is called regenerated granule (MPS).
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Quality control
The last step is quality control. The regenerated material is analyzed for quality, melt flow rate (MFI), density, and homogeneity. This ensures that the granule can be reused without compromising the performance of the final product.
What are the benefits of regenerated plastic?
The adoption of regenerated plastic is not only an ethical choice, but also a strategic one that offers numerous benefits for the environment and for your business:
- reduction of environmental impact and pollution: the most obvious advantage is the reduction of the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills or disperses into the environment, contributing to the pollution of seas and soil;
- saving non-renewable resources: using regenerated plastic instead of virgin raw material reduces dependence on non-renewable oil from which primary polymers are derived;
- Reduced energy consumption and emissions: Mechanical regeneration of plastics generally requires less energy than producing virgin polymers from scratch. This translates into a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with the production of raw material;
- incentive for the circular economy: choosing regenerated products concretely favors the circular approach, creating a virtuous supply chain that generates value, employment and innovation, contrasting the linear “extract-produce-dispose” model;
- Versatility and durability: regenerated plastic can be used in a very wide range of applications, from construction to automotive, from cables to packaging, while maintaining high properties of lightness, flexibility and durability.
Compatibility with Gaypa masterbatches and staining of regenerated
The use of regenerated plastic requires specific skills for those who work in the field of coloring and additivation. Often, the secondary-raw material, deriving from PIR (Post Industrial Recyclate) or post-consumer PCR (Post Consumer Recyclate) industrial waste, has a variable basic color (tending to grayish or yellow), the result of the mixing of polymers and residual contaminants. In addition, it may also happen that the product has an unpleasant smell.
This is where the Gaypa experience comes in. We have developed a specific masterbatch range to address the complexities of regenerated materials, ensuring compatibility between pigment, additive and regenerated resin, which may have a different flow rate or processing temperature from virgin material:
- Basic color correction: we use specific masterbatches to “correct” the base color of the regenerated. Through a wise and well-dosed use of pigments with high covering power (such as our Special Whites from the Raycom line) that allow you to obtain a clean and homogeneous final color, despite the use of bases with variable tones;
- additive masterbatches: the regenerated, due to the thermal cycles undergone, can have reduced mechanical and thermal properties. Our additive masterbatches from the Raytek line are integrated to restore or improve performance, giving UV stability, thermal resistance and structural reinforcement. In addition, it is possible to add additives for deodorization, to cope with the bad odor often released by the material;
- recycling solutions: for regenerated products that need to be recycled again or that are destined for dark colors, we provide solutions such as NIR (Near-Infrared) masterbatches from the Rayopt line. These dark, carbon-black-free masterbatches are a viable solution to ensure that dark plastic is detectable by optical separators in waste sorting centers and can actually continue its life cycle;
- simplified processing: all Gaypa masterbatches intended for PCR and PIR processing are developed on special carriers capable of preserving the properties of the polymeric matrices of the regenerated plastic, capable of guaranteeing homogeneity even in the event of improper dosing, without negatively impacting the final result.
Why choose Gaypa
Choosing Gaypa as a partner for your projects with regenerated plastics means relying on fifty years of experience that combines science, innovation and environmental responsibility.
We have developed specific know-how in the colouring of regenerated products, a field where dispersion and compatibility are more difficult to manage than with virgin plastic. We are able to formulate masterbatches that take into account the variability of the regenerated polymer, ensuring color stability and uniformity.
By the way, we don’t just offer you a “ready-to-use” solution, but tailor-made masterbatches that “fit perfectly” with your needs. Our team of chemists works to solve the specific problem of your raw material, analyzing the base of the regenerated material to formulate the optimal chromatic and functional corrective.
Our experience with customers in different sectors, from food-contact packaging (which requires stringent certifications even on remanufactured products) to automotive, allows us to respond to any need. We are used to managing masterbatches that combine color and ultra-performing additives (such as anti-UV and flame retardants) even on the most complex regenerated bases.
Finally, our own company is committed to sustainability: from the complete recirculation of industrial water to the virtuous management of our internal plastic waste (about 30,000 kg per year destined for reuse). By choosing us, you support a supply chain that is already committed to reducing its environmental impact at every stage.
We are ready to turn limitations into opportunities and ensure that your sustainable products maintain the excellence your customers expect. Contact us for advice and to find out how our masterbatches can optimise the colouring of your regenerated plastics.
