Material recovery of waste

Material recovery of waste covers the operations that make use of the materials contained in a waste stream so they can return to the production cycle, instead of being sent to disposal or combustion. It includes recycling, composting and other forms of raw material recovery, and stands in contrast to energy recovery, where the waste is burned for energy and the material is lost.

The distinction matters because both are sometimes called simply recovery, yet they are not equivalent in the waste hierarchy. Material recovery sits higher, because it preserves the value of materials and reduces the need to extract virgin resources.

Position in the waste hierarchy

The Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC sets a priority order for managing waste. From highest to lowest environmental preference:

1. Prevention.
2. Preparing for reuse.
3. Recycling and other forms of material recovery.
4. Other recovery, including energy recovery.
5. Disposal (landfill).

Recycling and material recovery should be preferred over energy recovery of waste, unless a life cycle assessment justifies another option. This logic is one of the pillars of the circular economy: keeping materials in use for as long as possible.

Forms of material recovery

Material recovery groups different processes depending on the waste type:

• Mechanical recycling: shredding, washing and reprocessing plastics, glass, paper or metals without altering their chemical structure, as explained in mechanical recycling.
• Composting and anaerobic digestion: biological treatment of the organic fraction to produce compost or biogas, covered in composting.
• Material recovery: extracting metals, aggregates or valuable components from industrial, construction or electronic waste.

How it is measured

Material recovery performance is tracked with indicators such as the recovery rate, which expresses the percentage of waste actually recovered out of the total generated, separating the share that is recycled from the share sent to energy recovery. These indicators are increasingly relevant in ESG reporting and in meeting European recycling targets.

Practical examples

A packaging company that collects its plastic offcuts and feeds them back into its production line is practising closed loop material recovery. An operator that turns organic waste into agricultural compost is also recovering material. By contrast, sending those same wastes to an incinerator with heat recovery would be energy recovery: the energy is captured, but the material is not.

Improve your circularity with Manglai

Increasing material recovery cuts costs, emissions and dependence on raw materials. Manglai helps you measure your waste flows and set realistic circularity targets. Talk to our team.