Additional Material Solution

Here you will find more information, materials, and videos about Corsair and their unique solution to the plastic crisis in the world.

🎥 Transforming Plastic Waste: Turning Garbage into Oil (1:25 minutes)

Since 2020, we have been collecting plastic waste from landfills, oceans, and cities – and using pyrolysis technology, we are converting it back into oil. Did you know that all plastic originally comes from crude oil?

Through this process, we close the loop: plastic waste becomes oil, and the oil can be used to manufacture new, more environmentally friendly plastic products. From plastic bag to oil – and back again. That is a true circular economy.

For more episodes of Corsair Masterclass click here

🎥Episode 3: Pyrolysis and Corsair’s solution
(3:12 minutes)

  • Corsair takes plastic waste and converts it back into oil, its original form.
  • All plastic is originally made from crude oil — pyrolysis restores the plastic to the same state.
    The pyrolysis oil can be used for fuels (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel) and, more importantly, new plastic.
  • The process is extremely efficient: 1,000 kg of plastic → 900 liters of pyrolysis oil.
  • Pyrolysis breaks down plastic at the molecular level and rebuilds it as pure liquid.
  • Corsair has ISCC certification, the highest standard in sustainability certification.
  • The company has full environmental and operating permits in both Thailand and Finland.
  • Corsair complies with the EU’s strictest environmental requirements and focuses on cleaning the planet from plastic pollution.

CORSAIR’S solution to the plastic problem

Here at Corsair, we have a solution to this problem.
Our solution is to take all this plastic waste — everything from plastic bags, packaging plastic, and various types of packaging — and convert it back to its original, liquid form: oil.
Something that may surprise many is that all the plastic we use in our everyday lives is originally made from crude oil that comes from the ground.

We at Corsair have a solution where, with the help of advanced recycling technology — a process called pyrolysis — we can actually convert all this plastic waste back to its original form, i.e., oil.
The oil we produce, also called pyrolysis oil, is a type of crude oil. It can be used to manufacture fuels and can easily be refined into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
But more importantly, it can also be used to produce new plastic.

Our process is extremely efficient.
For example, we can convert 1,000 kilograms of plastic waste, collected from landfills and nature, into up to 900 liters of pyrolysis oil.
This is done through the pyrolysis process, where the plastic is broken down at the molecular level and then rebuilt into a liquid product.

PPWR, EPR and Why the Plastic Industry Is About to Change

For many years, the plastic issue has mostly been about recycling bins, environmental campaigns, and companies saying they want to become “greener.”

But now something much bigger is happening.

The EU is currently changing the rules of the entire plastics industry through new laws and regulations such as PPWR, EPR, the EU Green Deal, and the Circular Economy Action Plan. And this is no longer just about the environment. It is about industry, economics, raw materials, and the future market.

For the first time, the world is beginning to seriously realize that it is not enough to simply collect plastic. Companies must also be able to show what actually happens to it afterwards.
And that is where the problems begin.

How big is the plastic problem really?

The world currently produces more than 400 million tonnes of plastic every year. A huge portion of it is used only for a very short time before becoming waste. At the same time, millions of tonnes of plastic end up in nature and the oceans every year, enormous amounts are burned, and much of it is never truly recycled.

Europe is also one of the regions in the world with the highest plastic consumption. The EU generates around 30 million tonnes of plastic waste every year, and despite improvements in recycling, enormous amounts still go to incineration or low-quality recycling.

That is why pressure is now increasing from every direction at the same time.

Politicians want to reduce waste volumes. Industry needs more recycled raw materials. Customers demand sustainability. And the EU is now beginning to introduce real requirements instead of recommendations.

What is PPWR?

PPWR stands for Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and is the EU’s new regulation for plastic packaging and packaging waste.
The difference compared to earlier legislation is enormous.

These are no longer voluntary goals or recommendations. This is binding legislation that will apply throughout the EU.

Companies will no longer be able to choose whether or not they want to adapt. The legislation has already been decided, and the requirements will gradually come into force across Europe.

This means that companies will no longer simply be able to say:
“We work sustainably.”
They will have to prove it.

They will need to show:

  • where the plastic comes from
  • what happens to it
  • how much is actually recycled
  • that the material returns back into the system

One of the EU’s goals is to reduce packaging waste per person compared to 2018 levels:

  • 5% reduction by 2030
  • 10% reduction by 2035
  • 15% reduction by 2040

At the same time, stricter requirements are being introduced regarding:

  • recycling
  • recycled content in plastics
  • design for recycling
  • traceability throughout the entire chain

And this is where the market truly begins to change.
Because suddenly, recycled and certified raw materials become extremely valuable.

What is EPR?

EPR stands for Extended Producer Responsibility.
This means that companies placing plastic packaging on the market will have greater responsibility for what happens to the plastic after use.

In practice, this means:

  • stricter requirements
  • higher costs
  • greater responsibility
  • a stronger need for real recycling
  • more reporting and control

Companies will need to prove that the plastic is actually being handled and recycled.

Will this really be enforced?

Yes.

This is one of the biggest differences compared to earlier regulations.

PPWR is an EU regulation, not just a directive. That means the rules apply directly in all 27 EU countries, and member states are required to introduce control systems, supervision, and sanctions.

This means companies that fail to comply may face:

  • fines
  • sanctions
  • increased fees
  • restrictions
  • in some cases sales bans

Enforcement will take place through national authorities, producer responsibility organizations, and supervisory authorities in each country.

This is why many people now see this development as something far bigger than just another environmental trend.
It is becoming a completely new market standard.

Why is the current system not enough?

The problem is that today’s system is not sufficient.

Mechanical recycling works well for certain plastics, but large amounts of plastic are still dirty, mixed, or difficult to recycle. As a result, much of it still ends up being incinerated.
That is why interest in new circular solutions is growing so rapidly right now.
And it is also why many people are beginning to talk about plastic shifting from waste to resource.

Because if companies in the future must prove real recycling, demand for circular raw materials will likely increase dramatically.

This is no longer just an environmental issue. It is becoming an industrial necessity.

Today’s mechanical recycling has limitations

It is also important to understand that today’s mechanical recycling has limitations.

When plastic is mechanically recycled, it is often shredded and turned into pellets used to manufacture new plastic products. The problem is that the plastic usually degrades each time it is recycled.

This means that plastic can often only be recycled a limited number of times before the quality becomes too poor. Eventually, the material no longer works for the same applications and risks ending up in incineration instead.

That is one of the reasons why many people are now looking at complementary solutions such as chemical recycling and pyrolysis, especially for plastics that are difficult to recycle mechanically or where the material quality has already deteriorated too much.

Many therefore see the future solution as a combination of several different recycling methods, where mechanical recycling remains important, but where new technologies are also needed to handle the full scale of the plastic problem.

Why is timing important?

Historically, the greatest opportunities have often emerged when the world goes through major transformations. Many people now see circular raw materials and plastic recycling as one of the next major industrial shifts.

Europe needs more recycling capacity. Industry needs more circular raw materials. And the world needs solutions that actually work at scale.

That is why many believe we are still very early in the development of the future of plastic recycling.

Sources

European Commission
European Parliament
European Council
EU Regulation 2025/40 (PPWR)
EU Waste Framework Directive
OECD Global Plastics Outlook
European Environment Agency
UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme)