Recycling is a key component of effective environmental and climate protection. In the EU, the Circular Economy Package adopted on April 18 thus sets higher binding quotas for Member States. At least 65% of municipal waste is to be recycled by 2035 and 70% of packaging waste by 2030.

The quotas specified for plastic packaging are nevertheless somewhat lower: 50% by 2025 and 55% by 2030. And sorting technology innovations are needed to reach these targets. For example, MEILO' s sorting plant, funded by the Federal Environmental Agency's innovation program , is designed to use near-infrared spectrometry to sort out two fractions that are not yet separated and are therefore incinerated: small-size PE films and flexible mixed polyolefins. In contrast, Polysecure 's technology is based on fluorescent tracers: the Freiburg-based company's process marks materials with the tracer substances, which can then be detected and sorted for recycling. The first sorting machine is already in the industrial testing phase.