In the management of municipal solid waste (MSW), recycling emerges as one of the ways to reduce the solid wastes deposited in landfills. Plastics are one of the classes of materials with the lowest recycling index. The present study deals with the main difficulties encountered in different countries to increase plastics recycling and the procedures adopted to change this scenario. Additionally, the general requirements and the restrictions about the use of recycled plastic for food contact are presented. This application represents a whole market share to be explored, which could add value and increase the recycling indexes in a sustainable way, provided that investments in innovative technologies are made.
Solid waste; recycling; food packages; plastic