Recovery of composite waste (R4, R12)

Composite waste is made up of several materials – such as plastic, metal, glass or fabric – that are bonded tightly together during manufacture. This makes the finished product strong and durable, but as waste it makes recycling more difficult. During treatment we therefore aim to separate these materials as far as possible. First and foremost we recover the valuable metals contained in the waste, which can be used again as raw material for new products. The remaining plastic, glass, fabric or other parts are treated separately according to their properties and, where possible, prepared for further recovery. In this way we can extract usable materials from complex waste that is otherwise difficult to process. As a result, less waste goes to landfill and less new raw material is needed. The recovery of composite waste is therefore a good example of how even complex waste can become a valuable source of raw materials.