More than one third of the total plastic production in Europe—about 14 million tonnes per year—are polyolefins, also known as polyalkenes. This is a family of polymers used for the manufacture of a variety of products, mainly bottles for water and soft drinks, and food packaging. The problem with polyolefins is that the material is not biodegradable, and can only be recycled into new plastics product when the waste is available in pure form.
Further information: cordis.europa.eu