ROWALID®-IR: Dark plastic articles can now also be sorted and recycled

Sorting for plastics recycling is carried out with NIR sensor technology, which evaluates the near-infrared spectrum reflected by the plastic. Thanks to their characteristic spectra, the types of plastic can be identified and thus sorted and recycled – at least for the most part, because the carbon black used in black and dark plastics absorbs most of the radiation in the visible and infrared wavelength range.

As a result, these grades lack a sufficient signal for differentiation and sorting. As consumers continue to associate the color black with elegance and luxury, these plastics are very popular and in great demand with many manufacturers, especially for the presentation of high-quality products.

Unfortunately, due to the problems in sorting described so far, a significant proportion of plastics could not be recycled efficiently. With ROWALID®-IR, ROWA Masterbatch has now presented polymer-specific solutions for the dark and black coloring of plastics, which enable detection in the sorting process.

With this new development, ROWA Masterbatch makes a significant contribution to significantly increasing the recycling quota. As usual, the experts of ROWA Masterbatch are available for customer-specific requirements such as individual, dark color adjustments based on different plastics.