Recycling at RIGK
Material recovery and energetic recovery of plastics
The sustainable recycling of packaging and plastics represents the core business of RIGK: We ensure that the returned material is recycled in a reliable and environmentally-friendly manner. Depending on the material, we focus on material recovery, in order to generate new products again, or on energetic recovery for energy extraction through incineration. The biggest advantage of recycling: the waste quantity is reduced– whilst increasingly scarce raw materials are spared!
Plastic recycling explained differently
Material recycling
The packaging taken back by RIGK can be recycled as material – provided it is collected as sorted as possible and as clean as possible. The technical procedures for recycling are very different, but in general the recycling process consists of the refinement or material recycling of pure plastics.
The materials in question are crushed, cleaned and finally remelted to form new plastic products. Their chemical structure is retained during this mechanical renovation. In this way, so-called regrinds result, from which new plastic products can be produced in injection or blow-moulding procedures. This successfully closes the recycling cycle!
Energetic recycling
Packaging which has contained hazardous substances is on the other hand incinerated and energetically recycled: The energy contained in the plastics is used for the generation of electricity, steam or district heating. Here RIGK always ensures that all selected waste incinerators have the necessary legal approvals and fulfil the prerequisites for energetic recycling in terms of the closed loop recycling managements law (KrWG).
