Polymer foams are mainly produced using petroleum derivatives. In addition, not all polymers can be easily reprocessed therefore, after their use they are normally disposed in land fields or burned for energy. As a consequence, the pollution associated with polymers has become one of the most important environmental issues, since the disposal of these products overwhelms the world’s ability to deal with them.
Following this issue, the European Community is implementing measures for the prevention of the disposal of plastic urban residues, following the circular economy principles.
Hence, the European Union has become a pioneer against plastic pollution. In fact, the Directive 2019/904 of the European Parliament which aims to reduce the volume and impact of single-use plastics products on the environment is a major example of the measures being taken.
There are two major methods for recycling polymers: mechanical recycling by polymer foams shredder and chemical recycling. The type of the recycling process to adopt is dependent on the type of polymer since thermoset and thermoplastics behave differently when exposed to heat. While thermoplastics melt under heat, thermoset can degrade at elevated temperatures.
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