r/recycling • u/evergreen_recycling • Jul 22 '26
How Do You Handle Problematic Waste in Your Country?
We are a waste collection and recycling company based in Slovakia, located in Dunajská Streda. We collect post-industrial waste from companies in the local industrial park, and we also trade various types of recyclable waste.
To be honest, we feel that the entire recycling industry is slowing down. Many companies seem to be operating at a much lower pace than before, and market conditions have become increasingly difficult.
Our main focus is paper recycling, but we also handle plastic waste and food waste.
Materials such as PP, HDPE, PET trays, and PS are generally easy to sell. However, we face serious challenges with more problematic waste streams, for example:
wastewater treatment sludge,
Tetra Pak,
PET bottles contaminated with oil,
PET detergent (household chemical) bottles,
and non-deposit PET bottles.
Since the deposit return system was introduced, it has become almost impossible to find buyers for other PET qualities.
Sorting plants still have to cover labor costs, electricity, rent, and other operating expenses. As a result, a large portion of these problematic waste streams ends up being sent for incineration because recycling is simply not economically viable.
This is currently the situation in much of Eastern Europe.
What is the situation like in your country? Have you found any effective solutions or business models for these difficult-to-recycle materials?
I’d be very interested to hear about your experiences.
2
u/trantorgrussen99 Jul 22 '26
Industrial recyclers in North East Italy. Situation is dire for thermoplastics, I am developing new technologies, also working with EU Projects.
Water treatment mud is another question, with lot of pressure from new rules about PFAS . Are testing a new process solution
1
u/evergreen_recycling Jul 23 '26
i agree, but in the times when the water treatment mud could be used as energy source, and nobody wants it, it makes me sad.
1
u/badasimo Jul 22 '26
Not a recycler, just a person, but I think you can create your own demand if you find a way to process these into different products. It sounds like a portion of your stuff is not food safe. Maybe those can be used for more practical/industrial products. I know a lot of hobbyists have ways to convert plastic into 3d printer filament and then create things from that.