The EU’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy, which mandates higher recycling rates for plastic waste, has sparked a surge in demand for advanced
plastic sorting equipment—with
optical sorters and
color sorting machines becoming industry staples. Under the policy, EU member states require plastic producers to achieve 50% recycling of plastic packaging by 2025 and 65% by 2030, pushing recyclers to upgrade their sorting tech.
Traditional manual sorting can no longer meet the policy’s strict purity standards. Instead, recyclers are turning to
multispectral color sorters that use near-infrared (NIR) technology to distinguish plastic types (PET, PP, PVC) by color, texture, and chemical composition. These machines eliminate cross-contamination, ensuring recycled plastic meets the “food-grade” or “packaging-grade” criteria set by the EU. For example, a German recycler reported that adopting an
AI-powered optical sorter boosted its PET sorting accuracy from 82% to 98%, helping it comply with EPR’s recycling targets.
The policy also drives demand for specialized
plastic flake sorters—a subset of
color sorting machines designed for post-shredding plastic particles. These sorters can detect tiny impurities like metal fragments or colored dyes, which are major barriers to high-quality recycling. Italian and French recyclers, in particular, are investing heavily in such equipment to avoid EPR’s hefty non-compliance fines.
Industry reports note that EU EPR has increased the adoption of
automated color sorters by 35% year-over-year. Recyclers now prioritize machines with real-time data tracking, as EPR requires producers to document recycling processes and report purity rates. This shift not only ensures policy compliance but also makes recycled plastic more valuable in global markets.
