Another elephant in the room is plastic: Even though efforts towards closed plastic recycling are constantly increasing, a large part of the plastic waste is still either burned as processed oil, which is harmful to the climate, or it ends up in non-transparent ways in the environment, rivers and seas. Examples of other challenges facing the industry include the recovery of rare earths in unused smartphones or the crushing and recycling of reinforced concrete. Improved collection, sorting, reuse and recycling processes with carbon-neutral processes are an important transformation lever to advance the circular economy. A lot of bulky waste collected by municipalities still contains usable products that can be offered at resale points. Companies in the industry are also driving the development of recycling-friendly products made from easily separable materials. Many cities have set a “zero waste” goal by 2030, in which the recycling industry plays a central role: the amount of waste must be reduced and all recyclable materials recycled. Collaboration with companies and citizens is also important in order to promote new initiatives such as repair cafés or reusable concepts in the catering industry.

The industry includes, for example, the collection, sorting, treatment and recycling of recyclable materials, environmental cleaning and pollutant removal as well as demolition work.