Through the Circular Economy Package, the EU aims to reduce material imports and environmental impacts of waste management. Ambitious recycling targets should help to achieve these objectives. As a response, the waste industry developed technical and organizational solutions that can intervene at different stages of a waste management system in order to increase the recovery of recycling materials, starting with improved separate collection over the use of modern material recovery facilities up to the enhanced treatment of waste incineration ashes. The large question is how each of these options can contribute to increase recycling rates to achieve a circular economy. By reviewing case studies as presented in the most recent literature published since the year 2010 from European countries on the recycling of post-consumer packaging waste of glass, metals, paper, and plastics, this study contributes to answer this question. In the first stage, the review found 644 articles matching with the search terms and published since the year 2010. Of these, 46 remained for an in-depth analysis, since 319 did not present case studies as defined in the scope of this article. The articles reviewed provide a good overview on the state of knowledge on increasing recycling of post-consumer packaging waste by improved separate collection, material recovery facilities, and waste incineration bottom ash treatment. Additional information and case studies, however, are required, particularly large-scale experiments to test new separate collection systems, large-scale with different feedstock material at the most-modern material recovery facilities and waste incineration bottom ash treatment plants.

The low recycling rate of post-consumer plastic packaging waste (PPW), which is partly due to insufficient separate collection, heterogeneous composition and high levels of contamination, poses a challenge in Austria, where the recycling rate must double in order to meet the target of 55 %. This study analyzes key packaging characteristics of non-beverage plastic bottles influencing recyclability, using Vienna as a case study. Additionally, a net quantity indicator and separate collection rates were calculated. 738 bottles from mixed MSW and 1,159 bottles from separate PPW collection were analyzed. The main polymer's proportion described by the net quantity indicator was higher for bottles from separate collection (69-72 %) than from mixed MSW (58 %), showing that a large share of the foreign materials are residues and dirt, with significantly higher contents in mixed MSW (20 %) than in separate collection (11 %). With a separate collection rate of 19.2 %, the great potential for recycling currently lies in mixed MSW at 4,112 t/yr. Thereof, 46 % is uncolored, 54 % is colored/white and, in terms of material grade, 30 % is food grade. The most common filling volume for PET, PP and HDPE was 0.5 < x ≤ 1.5 L (23-59 %) and the most common decoration technology was label (60-85 %). PET and PP had the highest shares of food-grade bottles (37-46 %), while PP had the highest share of colored bottles (22-31 %). The mechanical recycling potential of bottles depends largely on packaging characteristics, influencing separate collection and also automatic sorting. Harmonized design specifications are therefore crucial for this heterogeneous PPW fraction.

Beverage cartons are an important packaging material for dairy and other food products. Despite this importance, there are few studies that provide an in-depth characterization of beverage cartons when they become waste. This study aims to fill important data gaps on this packaging waste by presenting the results of a comprehensive characterization of beverage cartons, using the case study of Vienna. Through manual sorting analysis and high-temperature washing, moisture and dirt content and beverage carton types were assessed and annual quantities and separate collection rates were calculated. The results show that over 6,000 tonnes of beverage carton waste are generated in Vienna each year, mainly from fresh milk and juice. Over 80% of these are disposed of in mixed MSW, resulting in a net separate collection rate of 19.6%. The specific separate collection rate varied significantly depending on the type of packaging, ranging from 5 to 36%. In particular, beverage cartons with a high plastic content (up to 38%) showed a lower separate collection rate, undermining recycling efforts of beverage cartons. Moisture and dirt levels reached up to 28% of the gross mass, but only moderate differences were found between beverage cartons from mixed MSW and separate collection. Targeted consumer education and improved recycling processes would be essential to increase the usability of beverage carton secondary raw materials for high-value applications.

Yoghurt cup packaging has received increasing attention regarding design‐for‐recycling. Packaging technologies like the three‐component (3C) cup, consisting of a plastic cup, carton wrap and aluminum cover, reduce the amount of plastic needed. While individual components are well recyclable if consumers correctly separate and dispose of them after consumption, no data regarding consumer separation behavior of yoghurt cups is available. This study offers a detailed characterization of 3C cups and other yoghurt cup decoration types (2C) regarding their dismantling stage and content in mixed municipal solid waste and lightweight packaging waste in Vienna, Austria. The results show that 3C cups represent one of the largest shares of yoghurt cup decoration types, totaling over 42 Mio cups/year (645 t/year) in Vienna. Both 2C and 3C cups are better dismantled when separately collected. However, 95% of all cups land in mixed municipal solid waste and are unavailable for recycling. Separately collected 3C cups with carton wrap additionally hinder the correct sorting of cups in a sorting facility. Lacking participation of consumers regarding dismantling and correctly disposing of yoghurt cups can therefore compromise design‐for‐recycling efforts. Continued monitoring of yoghurt cup quality and content in different waste streams is recommended to better understand consumer behavior.