Tarpaulins are complex composite-like materials, typically composed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as reinforcement material and plasticized/soft polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as coating material. These durable plastics have a wide range of applications going from trailer covers to professional tents and from advertisement banners to biogas membranes. Each year 200 kton (corresponding to ca.300-400 km2) of tarpaulins enter the EU market, 65% of this volume being produced in the EU. After their functional lifetime, which ranges from a few months up to 30 years, over 99% of tarpaulins currently end up as landfill or are being incinerated as today’s recycling technologies are insufficient. The target of RETAIN is to contribute to the final ambition of having at least 90% of tarpaulins recycled by 2033. In order to reach our ambition, we will further develop various recycling technologies (i.e. mechanical, physical and selective dissolution) and demonstrate circular business practices (advanced collection, monitoring, sorting, repair/reuse/recycling and conversion of post-production and end-of-life tarpaulins) at TRL8 level at three DEMO locations in the EU. Additionally, we will develop and implement an efficient decision-making mechanism for process and lifecycle optimization such as the RETAIN gate control procedure for post-production and end-of-life tarpaulins. Finally, we will implement a digital product passport (DPP) for tarpaulins to ensure traceability, support certification and quality validation, quantify environmental, social, and economic impacts, incorporate learning and training activities, contribute to relevant standards, and connect with other recycling initiatives in the EU and abroad.

The RETAIN project has demonstrated circular value chains enabling the reuse and recycling of over 90% of tarps by 2036. The technologies, initially at TRL 5–6, have been successfully advanced to TRL 8, achieving large-scale validation with increased recovery, recycling, and upcycling rates at ton scale, and promoting a higher uptake of secondary materials in high-value applications.