Opportunism and idealism drove Kim Ragaert towards plastic recycling. Following her PhD research into plastic processing for medical implants, she discovered that there were limited chances for her in that field. "I was looking for a different focus for my academic career and at the same time wanted to improve the world, which is how I ended up researching the recycling of plastics."

Obvious

Ragaert started her research at Ghent University. Because there was no academic research on plastic recycling at the time, she was able to establish herself as a pioneer in the sector. When Maastricht University needed a Circular Plastics professor, Ragaert was the obvious choice. 

"A life-changing experience," Ragaert describes her decision to relocate from Ghent to Maastricht. "Flemish people prefer to dwell near their own church, so I anticipated growing old academically in Ghent. Although the move to Maastricht was exciting, I never regretted it."

Team 

Ragaert underestimated the gap in academic production caused by her transfer three years ago. "We created a whole new group here with first-year PhD students who must conduct research before they can publish. I am therefore quite delighted that the Circular Plastics Team of the Faculty of Science and Engineering published, for the first time, a study we initiated ourselves. There is much more to come this year."

The Circular Plastics Team (part of the Circular Chemical Engineering department) conducts research on two aspects of plastic recycling (see box): the polymer science underlying mechanical recycling and the organisation and collaboration of all partners and technologies involved in plastic recycling.

Eventually, everything is possible

On a technical level, Ragaert sees no truly insurmountable hurdles. "When companies claim that the use of recycled plastic in a specific application is impossible, everyone agrees. Nevertheless, we analyse at the macromolecular level why it is not working in order to identify a solution. Consider the recycling of plastic films, which are frequently printed with ink and therefore difficult to recycle. We explored how each component of the ink, including the heavy metals that produce colour, binders, and adhesives, behaves during recycling and how they affect the recycled material. Now that we know this, we can address the issue of plastic film recycling more effectively. However, whether the solution we discover can actually be implemented, is determined by a variety of factors, including costs, logistics, regulations, and, in many cases, industry priorities."