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10/14/2025

New publication on the long-term potential and challenges of plastics recycling in the construction and infrastructure sector

@Research Group on Resource Management and Solid Waste Engineering

We are pleased to announce the publication of our new study: Plastic and contaminant flow dynamics in the German building and infrastructure sector: Current and future challenges and opportunities for recycling

In this study, together with researchers from the Luxembourg Institute for Science and Technology (LIST), we investigate how the use of plastics in the German building and infrastructure sector has developed since 1950, how future material flows, storage and waste volumes could change by 2100 and how these changes will affect future recycling potentials. To this end, we use a high-resolution dynamic material flow model that takes into account six product groups (profiles, pipes, floor coverings, insulation materials, cable insulation and films) as well as eight polymers and seven historical pollutants.

 

Our results show that plastic stocks in buildings and infrastructure are expected to increase from around 63 million tons in 2023 to between 90 and 163 million tons by 2100. At the same time, waste streams are expected to at least double, which represents both an opportunity to close plastic loops and a challenge for recycling systems.

The existing gap between consumption and waste volumes, which has arisen as a result of long product lifetimes and historically growing consumption, can only close gradually - provided that future plastic consumption is stabilized or reduced.

Particularly challenging for recycling are historical contaminants such as DEHP, lead, HBCD and (H)CFCs, which make it considerably more difficult to achieve high recycling rates. Reliable detection and removal of these contaminants is crucial for the circular use of plastics in the construction and infrastructure sector.

The publication can be accessed via the following link (Open Access):
DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2025.108620

The underlying data and models on historical plastic flows (1950-2023) and historical pollutants in the construction sector are published separately and are also freely accessible:
DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2025.111654

Both publications were produced as part of the IMMEC research project, which is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG - project number 490612391) and the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR - 2021 CORE Call-Project number C21/SR116217831/IMMEC).