Did you know that… composite materials can be 100% recycled?

M.I.P. builds sustainable storage systems using composite materials (glass-fibre-reinforced plastic). It has long been no secret why we prefer composite materials as a building material. Composite offers clear advantages over traditional materials such as concrete, aluminium, steel and stainless steel.

For example, composite is corrosion-resistant, requires almost no maintenance, has high insulating properties, is impact-resistant and impervious to condensation. But did you know that composite is also circular? In other words, did you know that composite can be 100 per cent recycled?

To find out all about this, we interviewed our neighbours at CRC, or the Circular Recycling Company, in Moerdijk.

CRC was founded in 2020 because there were as yet no sustainable solutions for recycling composites. Why not? Quite simply because it cost too much and was not considered profitable. Now that the government is increasingly steering policy towards sustainability and energy neutrality, more and more companies are willing to invest in this area.

Two years on, there is demand for no fewer than 4,000 tonnes of new raw materials on an annual basis.

100 per cent recyclable or circular?

When an old wind turbine blade is turned into a new one, this is referred to as 100 per cent circularity. Of course, that is not (always) possible. Circularity is about raw materials being reused in new products and then recycled again after use.

30 per cent of all recycled composite consists of fibre. When this fibre is depolymerised at a very low temperature, it produces naphtha (a type of oil) which can ultimately be used to make various types of plastics.

This makes the composite fully circular and therefore 100% recyclable.

Discover how recycling works

By collecting, sorting and mechanically & chemically processing thermosetting composites, various recycling streams are created. These recycling streams consist of 70 per cent coarse and fine recyclate, as well as glass and carbon fibres (mechanical processing). The remaining 30 per cent is dust residue.

Different products are never mixed together because this would result in raw materials that do not actually exist (think, for example, of the combination of tanks and wind turbines).

Furthermore, the possibilities are endless! At present, for example, the recycled material is already being used in the construction and infrastructure sectors. In addition, a trial is currently underway in which the product’s composition is being blended with thermoplastics (= plastic materials that soften when heated) so that it can be used in the automotive industry.

Sustainable CO₂ reduction

In the past, waste was incinerated. Nowadays, waste is often exported and then landfilled. Neither method is in any way sustainable or circular. Furthermore, conventional waste processing companies often involve high costs.

Until recently, therefore, there were no sustainable solutions available for recycling composites – until now.

Did you know, by the way, that another major benefit is the significant CO₂savings achieved by reusing the recycled composites in new products?

The future of recycling at M.I.P.?

For CRC, there must always be a front end as well as a back end. The mountain of composite material released through recycling must also be reused in a end product. At present, CRC already has quite a few well-known customers, but certainly not enough to absorb all the composite material released. The concept is still too new for that.

And what about M.I.P.? Our task, for now, is to start thinking about what the ‘back end’ of our composite tanks and silos could be. Together with CRC, we too could do our bit for a greener future!