Announced on 20 June at the Plastics Recycling Show Europe in Amsterdam, the Plastics Recycling Awards Europe 2024 represent examples of the best advances in the circular use of plastics and their recycling technologies. For the first time in the seven-year history of the awards, the jury has nominated two ambassadors for plastics recycling, in addition to the winners of the products and innovations of the year.
The prestigious Plastic Recycling Ambassador of the Year category gives special recognition to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to plastic recycling in Europe. This year, the jury honoured the achievements of Erica Canaia, CEO of Fimic and co-founder of AreyouR, a project aimed at raising public awareness and the importance of plastic recycling, and Vicente Olmos Jorge, CEO and founder of Sintac Recycling.
The winner in the Automotive, Electrical and Electronic Product of the Year category was Electrolux's 900 Series Air Purifier, which the judges praised for its high percentage of post-consumer recycled content in a multi-functional product. In the Building & Construction Product of the Year category, the winner was Fluidra's Skinner RPS, a component of a swimming pool filtration system that must have a long service life. The judges were impressed by the high percentage of recycled content used in the product and its recyclability at the end of its life.
The award in the Household & Leisure Product of the Year category went to Bywyd's Blue Finn multi-functional, stackable chair with a seat and back made from 85% recycled Bluewrap polymer and featuring high impact resistance. Beiersdorf and Morssinkhof Plastics Heerenveen won the Plastic Packaging Product of the Year award for the Nivea solar creation bottle.
Multi-Color Corporation's NextCycle IML won the Product Technology Innovation of the Year award for maximising the value of recycled polypropylene and striking a balance between shelf appeal and the recyclability of PP mono-material packaging. Finally, in the Recycling Machinery Innovation of the Year category, the winner was DischargePro Technology from Powerfil (Erema Group), a new generation of melt filters for the extrusion process.
All eight winners received a trophy with a 100% recycled ABS base made from car dashboards and a multi-coloured top cut using laser technology from recycled HDPE caps from beach clean-ups.
