Extrusion International 4-2023

54 Extrusion International 4/2023 RECYCLING – INTERVIEW Keep on Trailblazing The Lindner family business has been active in the recycling market for many decades and is known for innovative shredding technology, system solutions and washing systems. Of all the sectors, plastics recycling is the most dynamic. To provide the industry with recyclates of the required quality, in the necessary quantities and at low production costs, strategic partnerships and an optimised all-in-one process will be needed in the future, Lindner is certain. Michael Lackner, Managing Director at Lindner, explains this in the following interview: P lastics recycling is more in de- mand than ever. Recycling quo- tas, however, are often not met. Where do you see the challenges and what will a solution look like, Mr Lackner? Michael Lackner: For years, our focus has been on processing mate- rial flows in the best possible way to recycle as many potential raw materials as possible. We have been quite successful in plastics recycling. Our Lindner Washtech washing fa- cilities are modular in design and can therefore be optimally adapted to the requirements of the respec- tive plastic or recycling process. The NTCP, National Test Centre for Plas- tics Recycling, in the Netherlands selected a washing facility from us primarily for this reason. But even if the individual components of our facilities are perfectly matched, it is still necessary to broaden our per- spective. In what way? Lackner: To advance plastics recy- cling, the entire process chain from preparing the material and wash- ing to the finished recyclate must be considered. Only when we suc- ceed in taking into account the re- quirements of the downstream pro- cesses, such as extrusion including filtration, compounding and odour optimisation, and when we manage to perfectly coordinate all process steps, will it be possible to achieve optimisations and create new in- dustry standards for our clients – as a recycling pioneer, this is also our declared goal. The future lies in optimising and fine tuning the entire process? Lackner: Absolutely. That's where we see our future, and that's where we want to advance plastics recy- cling. In the future, we want to offer our clients all-in-one solutions that cover the entire spectrum from sort- ing, washing and drying to extru- sion and the finished recyclate. This will be possible soon thanks to a strategic partnership with an extru- sion industry leader. By fine tuning all process steps, we will be able to process plastics with our solutions in such a way that they can be used again in the food industry and other highly demanding areas. Lindner-Recyclingtech GmbH Manuel-Lindner-Str. 1, 9800 Spittal/Drau, Austria www.lindner.com The future of plastics recycling lies in optimising and fine tuning the entire process. By fine tuning the entire value chain, the company aims to set new industry standards and offer clients perfectly coordinated all-in-one solutions in the future. On the picture: Manuel Lindner (right), Owner & Managing Dirctor at Lindner, and Michael Lackner (left), Managing Director at Lindner (Copyright © Lindner Recyclingtech)