Diaper, Butts and Smartphones Crystals: Climbing in Europe and how to recycle them

Recycling has become natural for many of us, but what European products are still fighting to find the second life? According to recent statistics, municipalities will collect half -ton of waste for the resident of the EU, in 2023 Only 48%will be recycled.

Now there is pressure to increase that number. New EU standards are installing it by the end of this year 55% Municipal waste And 65% of the packaging waste They must be prepared or recycled. But European countries have difficulties in achieving these objectives. It is estimated that two -thirds of EU countries will violate at least one goalTen member states, including Greece, Hungary and Poland, are running a risk of not achieving both objectives.

What products are very difficult to recycle and what is done to solve it?

A laser to melt the crystal of smartphones

Every year it is recycled in Europe 75% of glass containers (For example, bottles and jars), most of them sound together in new glass containers.

But the glass of X -ray pipes, LCD screens and smartphones usually experience chemical changes. For example, the mirror of the curtains Smartphones It can be kept chemically reinforced to make it more resistant to cracks or scratches. This prevents its connection to regular ovens. “It takes a long time to change the temperature of the furnace two degrees,” says Juan P Ou of Vaiko University.

Instead, he and other researchers of the Eurklas program funded by the EU, They form a glass recycling mechanical prototype, which uses the mirror melting laser. Unlike the oven, Laser can be adjusted quickly at the desired temperature Melt any glasses and convert it into new products.

They hope that this machine can recycle the medical glass roads used to save Govid-19 Vaccines. Often, hospitals do not know what to do with the mirror, and limit themselves to throw it, Juan explains. “The quality of the mirror is very good,” he says. “We are working on this mirror to reuse this mirror in other technical applications.”

The magnets of wind turbines and e-scooters are separated

Since they were found in 1984, The only need for Neotymio is growing. They are still the most powerful magnets in the market, and now they are found Air turbackOvarian Even electric car machines and electric scooters. But magnets are made by the European Union “important raw materials”, which means important materials to the industry From geopolitical risk areas.

Raw materials can be recycled, but there is no industrial or business process so far. For now, No one knows which way to treat this future waste.

“Due to the strength of this type of magnet, this requires special attention and group”Lorenzo Percy from Florence University says he is working on safely recycling these magnets in the structure of the Harmonary Project funded by the EU.

This international program examines ways to improve the entire recycling process, the best collection and extraction of the first metals and the creation of new magnets. This will help you Create future European recycling magnetsLorenzo States. “In the future there will be a huge need for this item, which means that someone will recycle it,” he says.

Recycling food waste to create “vowel -pulling” fertilizer

European Union creates 59 million tonnes of food waste per yearThe equivalent of about 132 kg per resident. From them, 11% have come from hotels, restaurants and catering services (Horeka).

“It is estimated that 99% of the Horeka waste will stand for landscapes,” says Bruno Isarra, a researcher on food stability at the Austy Research Center (Spain). Although a part can change fertilizer, it usually does not have enough nutrients for agriculture. His work in the EU -funded Landfed program is aimed at converting restaurants and food services into the biological fertilizers of agricultural farms. This is difficult because he explains A lot of each Leash Diet is different and most of the technology to treat them is still in the initial growth phase. The project of five districts focuses on the processes and technologies that can be adapted to these challenges to create standard fertilizers.

They use the “solid level fermentation” method to grow microorganisms in food waste without water. These microorganisms create enzymes to digest the waste and create molecules that help grow better in cultivated plants.

How are diapers recycled?

Although they are a gift from heaven for parents, diapers have been proven to be an environmental headache. Researchers estimate that 46,000 million diapers are thrown every yearFor most disposable disintegration is 150 to 500 years (biodegradables are about 50).

Within diaper, “Superband polymers” that absorb moisture can be a barrier to their recycling. These polymers form a gel when they are wet, and they should be treated to release moisture before cut into small pieces for plastic and fibers. This is usually a long and precious process, which ends most of these diapers, which end up with the Edwin Verhoff of Europe in Diaper recycling. This is one thing for profit because the recovered products are clean and expensive, ”explains Edwin.

Diaper recycling Europe has built a pilot plant in the Netherlands to purify this waste. This procedure is in deactivation of polymers, splitting the products, and eliminating any pathogen or trace of the drug from recovered products and sewage. Until now, the plant has shown that all diaper products can be separated, and in a rear phase it will clean the products and wastewater. Edwin says that this process in a rear phase will be a large -scale half -aotamatized.

The button is not

The bitterness of street cleaners and beaches across Europe is long. Investigations have been proven These -backed non -non -bodies have more than 7,000 toxic chemicals, which are released in the marine environment. The difficulty of recycling them is the difficulty in collecting them. LBlillas are expensive and difficult to collect because they are easily spread through the environment, which are small and difficult to separate from other waste. But when staying in the environment, they drain Harmful chemicals It can damage soil bacteria and sea life.

Many newly created European companies are trying to fix this situation Installing new pins in cities and transforming the Buttes into new products. Italian company has installed more than 4,500 tanks in all regions of re-Chik. Once collected, the butts are washed and mixed at a dry and controlled temperature to extract the plastic polymer called cellulose acetate. In areas such as 3D printers, they are crushed in particles to reuse them. The idea has been proven to be popular; “Today, re-350 companies and 80 public administrations,” says re-Chic’s founder and general director Marco Fimoknari.