Lindner has been active in the recycling market for decades and is known for its shredding technology, system solutions, and washing systems. Of all the sectors, plastics recycling is the most dynamic. To provide the industry with recyclates of the required quality, in the necessary quantities and at low production costs, strategic partnerships and an optimized process will be needed in the future. Michael Lackner, managing director at Lindner, explains this in an interview below.
Q: Plastics recycling is more in demand than ever. Recycling quotas, however, are often not met. Where do you see the challenges and what will a solution look like, Mr Lackner?
ML: For years, our focus has been on processing material flows in the best possible way to recycle as many potential raw materials as possible. We have been quite successful in plastics recycling. Our Lindner Washtech washing facilities are modular in design and can therefore be optimally adapted to the requirements of the respective plastic or recycling process. The NTCP, National Test Centre for Plastics Recycling, in the Netherlands, selected a washing facility from us primarily for this reason. But even if the individual components of our facilities are perfectly matched, it is still necessary to broaden our perspective.
Q: In what way?
ML: To advance plastics recycling, the entire process chain from preparing the material and washing to the finished recyclate must be considered. Only when we succeed in taking into account the requirements of the downstream processes, such as extrusion including filtration, compounding, and odour optimization, and when we manage to perfectly coordinate all process steps, will it be possible to achieve optimizations and create new industry standards for our clients – as a recycling pioneer, this is also our declared goal.
Q: The future lies in optimizing and fine-tuning the entire process?
ML: Absolutely. That's where we see our future, and that's where we want to advance plastics recycling. In the future, we want to offer our clients all-in-one solutions that cover the entire spectrum from sorting, washing, and drying to extrusion and the finished recyclate. This will be possible soon thanks to a strategic partnership with an extrusion industry leader. By fine-tuning all process steps, we will be able to process plastics with our solutions in such a way that they can be used again in the food industry and other highly demanding areas.
