Assessing the industrial-scale recycling feasibility of paper, board and fiber-based composites from lightweight packaging waste for high-quality applications

Despite high recycling targets, paper and board (PB), including fiber-based composites from German lightweight packaging waste (LWP), are still predominantly subjected to thermal recovery or low-quality recycling due to technical and regulatory barriers. To overcome these barriers and support the development of sustainable, high-quality recycling pathways (i.e., reutilization in applications comparable to the original product), we conducted two production trials in an operational board mill. The trials aimed to demonstrate technical recycling feasibility on an industrial scale, while generating data to support regulatory adaptation and providing primary data for a subsequent comparative life cycle assessment. Using a tailored quality assessment, we evaluated the entire process chain, including dry mechanical sorting, defibration, wet mechanical processing with an additional hygienization step, and final board production. The results indicate that PB recycling from LWP for high-quality applications is technically feasible (under investigated conditions, feedstock share 12.5 wt%), provided that specific process adaptations are implemented. Based on the assessed quality parameters, a substitution coefficient of 0.75 was derived for PB from LWP in the newly developed recycling process, indicating near-equivalent recyclability to that of conventionally collected recovered PB. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive industrial-scale quality assessment of PB recycling from LWP, with a particular focus on primary data collection and high-quality material recovery. The results support the scientific basis for the development of sustainable recycling pathways.